Planned Parenthood, Reproductive Equity Now, ACLU release advocacy agenda for post-Roe Massachusetts

Beyond Roe Coalition calls for plan to promote true reproductive freedom in Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 13, 2022

CONTACT: Caroline Kimball-Katz, Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, [email protected] 

BOSTON – Following a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the newly rebranded Beyond Roe Coalition—led by the ACLU of Massachusetts, Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, and Reproductive Equity Now—today launched a new advocacy agenda to protect and expand abortion access in Massachusetts. 

With abortion rights at risk nationwide, the Massachusetts Beyond Roe Agenda includes over a dozen recommendations for legislative action, budget investments, and regulatory solutions that state leaders can urgently take to: 

• Expand abortion and other reproductive health care access

• Support Massachusetts providers and patients as other states threaten to force pregnancy within their borders and chill access beyond their borders

• Increase research and education efforts to help meet existing and growing health care needs

“It’s not enough to just protect one’s right to abortion, we must use every tool we have to ensure equitable access to abortion and other reproductive health care in our state,” said Dr. Nate Horwitz-Willis, Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts. “This agenda shows just how Massachusetts can lead the nation in reproductive freedom by further removing barriers to care, protecting our providers, and increasing education efforts.”

“As other state legislatures introduce abortion bans and the Supreme Court is poised to gut or overturn Roe, Massachusetts must continue to be a leader in ensuring that abortion is accessible, affordable, and available to all,” said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Our right to abortion shouldn't depend on where we live or how much money we make; all people should be able to control their own bodies, lives, and futures. Now is the time for Massachusetts leaders to show the country that our Commonwealth will never stop fighting for a person's ability to choose when and whether to have a child.”

“Massachusetts has an opportunity and an obligation to meet this moment of crisis with bold and comprehensive solutions to promote true reproductive freedom. While abortion will remain legal in the Commonwealth regardless of what happens in the Suprreme Court this summer, access is not guaranteed,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, Executive Director of Reproductive Equity Now. “Our leaders and policymakers can take action right now to ensure abortion care is affordable, accessible, and available to every person that wants it. With this agenda, Massachusetts will remain a beacon for reproductive equity.”

The ROE Act codifies the right to abortion into state law, recognizing abortion as a fundamental right and ensuring it will remain legal in Massachusetts. But barriers to care—including exorbitant costs, complicated insurance coverage, and provider access deserts—still exist in the Commonwealth, especially for low-income communities, communities of color, and immigrant communities. 

The full Massachusetts Beyond Roe Agenda–including legislative efforts already in progress–can be found here: https://www.massbeyondroe.com