Boston archbishop condemns Massachusetts abortion expansion bill
His response follows an earlier appeal from the state’s bishops to oppose the measure and renew respect for life at every stage.
A Massachusetts archbishop in a recent statement condemned a new state law allowing abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy and urged the faithful to remain steadfast in defending human life.
In an Aug. 11 post on X, Boston Archbishop Richard Henning described the law’s enactment as a profound violation of the sanctity of human life.
“The passage and signing of a bill radically expanding abortion in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” he said, “is a grave offense against the sanctity and dignity of every person.”
The archbishop also acknowledged that the law may discourage those working to defend that dignity.
“I encourage us to continue to proclaim the beauty and the miracle of life,” he said. “The Word of God commands us, ‘choose life that you may live’ (Deut 30:19). May that truth give us strength and hope.”
Archbishop Henning’s statement follows the Aug. 11 signing of the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act by Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, a Catholic.
The act now permits abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy “based upon the professional judgment of a physician.” Abortions after 24 weeks had previously been reserved for cases involving the mother’s life or health or certain severe fetal diagnoses, as Zeale News previously reported.
The Catholic bishops of Massachusetts had opposed the legislation as it moved through the Massachusetts Legislature.
In a July 29 statement, the bishops called the removal of legal limits on late-term abortion “a radical measure” that was “gravely immoral.”
“As Catholic bishops,” they said, “we have a moral responsibility to present and uphold Catholic teaching and the sacred God-given dignity of every human life from conception to the natural death.”
The bishops urged Catholics to pray for a renewed reverence for life and called on the Church to welcome and support women and families.
“Life is beautiful!” they said. “Let there be room in our hearts for the most vulnerable among us.”
