Massachusetts’ new abortion law is in effect. Gov. Maura Healey filed an emergency declaration on Friday, November 6, 2026, that put Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2026 into force immediately, WBUR, CommonWealth Beacon and the New Bedford Guide reported. Her filing came the same day opponents delivered more than 113,000 signatures seeking to suspend the law until voters decide on repeal in 2028.
The law was due to take effect on Sunday, November 8. Without the declaration, a certified petition would have frozen it for two years. With it, the law stays in force while the repeal question moves toward the ballot. Here is what changed, how the emergency power works, and what happens next.
What the law says
We read Chapter 188 at malegislature.gov. It has three sections.
- Section 1 amends G.L. c. 112, § 12N, the provision on abortions at or after 24 weeks. It strikes the rule that such an abortion could be performed only if, in the physician’s best medical judgment, it was necessary to preserve the patient’s life or physical or mental health, or was warranted by a lethal fetal anomaly or a grave fetal diagnosis. The new text says “an abortion may be performed by a physician based upon the professional judgment of the physician.”
- Section 2 replaces § 12N½ with one sentence: “No medical review process shall override the professional judgment of a treating physician and a patient or the patient’s health care proxy to provide an abortion consistent with section 12N.”
- Section 3 strikes the second paragraph of § 12P.
Healey signed the act on August 10, 2026. State health officials reported that 99 of the state’s 49,450 abortions in 2024 took place at 24 weeks or later, CommonWealth Beacon reported.
What happened Friday
The signatures. The Compassionate Care Coalition, led by Massachusetts Citizens for Life and Massachusetts Family Action, filed 113,477 signatures already certified by local clerks with Secretary of State William Galvin’s office, coalition chair Sam Miele told WBUR. CommonWealth Beacon reported about 113,000. WBUR reported that 37,289 signatures are needed to reach the 2028 ballot and 49,719 to suspend the law in the meantime; CommonWealth Beacon put the suspension threshold at 49,716.
The declaration. In her filing, Healey wrote that “any further delay in implementing the Act would prolong uncertainty for patients, families, physicians and health care institutions, and risk further harm to the health and safety of women in Massachusetts,” according to WBUR and CommonWealth Beacon. She wrote that the old exceptions had proven “too narrow to account for the full spectrum of high-risk pregnancy complications that can arise later in pregnancy,” CommonWealth Beacon reported.
In a post on the governor’s Substack, Healey wrote: “Today, I’m filing an emergency statement under Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution to put this law into effect as the Legislature intended while the referendum process moves forward.” She said “at least nine patients have been denied care here since the law was signed,” and that a suspension “could mean two more years of women being denied care.”
How the emergency power works
The rules come from Article 48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, under the heading “The Referendum.” We read the text at malegislature.gov.
| Step | What Article 48 says |
|---|---|
| Normal waiting period | A law takes effect 90 days after it becomes law unless it is an emergency law. Ninety days after August 10 is November 8. |
| Suspension | A petition filed within those 90 days with signatures equal to “not less than two per cent of the entire vote cast for governor at the preceding biennial state election” means “the operation of such law shall be suspended.” |
| Which election | The law goes to voters at the next state election “if sixty days intervene” between the filing and the election. The November 3, 2026 election had already passed, so the question would go to November 2028. |
| Governor’s override | If the governor files a statement that “the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or convenience requires that such law should take effect forthwith,” “setting forth the facts constituting the emergency,” the law “shall take effect without suspension, or if such law has been so suspended such suspension shall thereupon terminate.” |
| Referendum still allowed | Article 48 separately provides for a referendum petition on “the repeal of an emergency law.” |
The governor can file the statement “at any time before the election at which it is to be submitted to the people on referendum.” Because the declaration either prevents a suspension or ends one already in place, Healey did not need to wait for Galvin to certify the signatures.
A declaration changes timing, not the vote. The coalition’s petition can still put repeal on the 2028 ballot. What the declaration ended is the two-year pause.
What a 2028 vote would decide
If the petition is certified, voters in November 2028 would decide whether to keep Chapter 188. Under Article 48, a law voters approve stays in effect. If it is not approved, “such law shall be null and void.” There is a floor: “no such law shall be held to be disapproved if the negative vote is less than thirty per cent of the total number of ballots cast at such state election.” Repeal needs a majority on the question, and the no votes must equal at least 30 percent of everyone who casts a ballot that day.
Certification comes first. A Galvin spokesperson said staff would begin reviewing each sheet for disqualifying marks and tallying signatures by county after the 5 p.m. Friday deadline, a process that typically takes one to two weeks, CommonWealth Beacon reported.
Healey has done this before
Healey attached an emergency preamble to the 2024 gun law after opponents gathered signatures to suspend it, CommonWealth Beacon reported. That law stayed in effect for two years, and on Tuesday just over two thirds of voters rejected the repeal effort in Question 9, according to the same report. What the Question 9 result means.
What each side said
Opponents. “Governor Healey’s preamble reflects an utter disregard for the men and women she was elected to represent,” wrote Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, CommonWealth Beacon reported. Miele told WBUR: “Governor Healey, you must explain to the voters why that is an emergency.”
Supporters. Dr. Rebecca Brendel, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said physicians must make individualized recommendations “based on scientific evidence, established standards of care, and circumstances unique to our patients,” and that “decisions regarding abortion care later in pregnancy should be no different,” according to WBUR and CommonWealth Beacon. Kathleen Melendy, Massachusetts state director of Reproductive Equity Now, called it “decisive action to address this public health emergency,” WBUR reported.
The governor. “The repeal campaign can continue its work, and Massachusetts voters will have their say,” Healey wrote. “If they choose to repeal the law, we will respect their decision.”
Frequently asked questions
Is the new Massachusetts abortion law in effect?
Yes. Gov. Healey’s emergency declaration on November 6, 2026 put Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2026 into effect immediately, two days before its scheduled November 8 date.
What does an emergency preamble do in Massachusetts?
Under Article 48 of the state constitution, a governor’s emergency declaration makes a law take effect right away and prevents a referendum petition from suspending it. Voters can still be asked to repeal it.
Will the abortion law be on the 2028 ballot?
Likely, if Secretary of State William Galvin certifies the signatures. The coalition filed about 113,000, far above the 37,289 needed for the ballot, according to WBUR. Certification typically takes one to two weeks.
What does the law change after 24 weeks?
It replaces the list of permitted reasons with a physician’s professional judgment, and says no medical review process may override the professional judgment of the treating physician and the patient.
Sources: WBUR and CommonWealth Beacon, November 6 and 7, 2026; New Bedford Guide, November 7, 2026; Gov. Maura Healey, “Why Massachusetts’ new abortion law can’t wait,” November 6, 2026. Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2026 and Article 48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, read at malegislature.gov. General information, not legal or medical advice.