Massachusetts Law About Abortion
See Also:
Massachusetts Laws
Primary Laws:
- MGL c.112, s.12L Abortion at less than 24 weeks
- MGL c.112, s.12M Abortion at more than 24 weeks
Additional Laws:
- MGL c.112, s.12I Right of refusal of medical staff
- MGL c.112, s.12J Experimentation on fetuses prohibited
- MGL c.112, s.12K Definitions
- MGL c.112, s.12N Punishment for violation of 12L or 12M
- MGL c.112, s.12O Protection of unborn child
- MGL c.112, s.12P Preservation of life and health of child
- MGL c.112, s.12Q Should be in hospital after 13th week
- MGL c.112, s.12R Written statement of reasons for 12M
- MGL c.112, s.12S Consent; Parental consent for minors
- MGL c.112, s.12T Punishment for violation of 12O-12R
- MGL c.112, s.12U Enjoining performance of abortion
- MGL c.266, s.120E1/2 Obstructing Entry to or Departure from Medical Facilities; Penalties; Injunctive Relief.
- MGL c.272, s.19-21B Punishment for Procuring or Advertising Abortion, or Selling Abortion Instruments; Privately Controlled Hospital not Required to Perform Abortions
Massachusetts Regulations
- 109 CMR 11.07 Department of Youth Services—Client Medical Care—Abortion
- 110 CMR 11.07 Department of Social Services—Medical Authorizations--Abortion
- 130 CMR 484 Division of Medical Assistance - Abortion Services for Medical Assistance Recipients
Federal Laws
- 18 USC 248 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances
- 18 USC 1531 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003
- 42 USC 300a-6 Prohibition Against Funding Programs Using Abortion as Family Planning Method
- 42 USC 300a-7 Sterilization or Abortion
Court Rules
Superior Court Standing Order 5-81: Uniform Procedures Regarding Petitions for Abortion Authorization Under GL c.112, s.12
Selected Case Law
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) The court held that a woman's constitutional right to privacy encompassed her decision to terminate a pregnancy. The right was not unrestricted as states have an interest in regulating abortions during the later stages of pregnancy.
Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 US 124 (April 18, 2007). In a sharply divided 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld a federal law prohibiting so-called "partial birth" abortion.
McCullen v. Coakley, 571 F.3d 167 (July 8, 2009). The Massachusetts abortion clinic buffer zone, MGL c.266, s.120E1/2, "represents a permissible response by the Massachusetts legislature to what it reasonably perceived as a significant threat to public safety. It is content-neutral, narrowly tailored, and leaves open ample alternative channels of communication. It is, therefore, a valid time-place-manner regulation, and constitutional on its face."
Opinion of the Justices to the Senate, 430 Mass. 1205 (2000) SJC indicated that a proposed 25-foot buffer zone would be constitutional. That opinion stated that floating buffer zones, as Massachusetts law previously provided, are "problematic" and make compliance difficult. With a clearly defined boundary, "demonstrators may still engage in all forms of protest as they previously have done, but are simply constrained to do so outside the buffer zone."
Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts v. Attorney General, 424 Mass. 586, 677 N.E.2d 101 (1997). Court held that statutory requirement that pregnant unmarried minor obtain consent of both parents before obtaining abortion violated due process clause.
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 112 S.Ct. 2791, 120 L.Ed.2d 674 (1992) Pennsylvania abortion statute held valid for 24 hour informed consent, parental consent for minors, and record keeping requirements, but not for spousal notice under due process clause of Federal Constitution's 14th Amendment.
Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914, 120 S.Ct. 2597, 147 L.Ed.2d 743 (2000). "Nebraska statute that criminalized performance of any 'partial birth abortion' that was not necessary to save life of mother held to violate Federal Constitution."
Web Resources
Supreme Court's Evolving Rulings on Abortion, NPR. "In more than three decades since its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, the Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue another two-dozen times. The following timeline details some of the key decisions that have shaped the Court's still-evolving thinking on abortion."
Yahoo: Abortion. Categories include Abortion Provider Directories, Clinic Violence, Herbal Birth Control and Abortion, Intact Dilation and Extraction, Organizations, Pro-Choice and Pro-Life.
Print Resources
American Jurisprudence 2d, West Group, 1994 with supplement, vol. 1, "Abortion and Birth Control."
Bioethical and Evolutionary Approaches to Medicine and the Law, American Bar Association, 2007.
Massachusetts Practice, vol. 1 (Family Law and Practice, 3rd ed.) West Group, 2002 with supplement, Chapter 25; vol. 17B (Prima Facie Case, 5th ed.), West Group, 2005, section 53.17.
May It Please the Court: Arguments on Abortion: live recording and transcripts of Supreme Court oral arguments on reproductive rights, Stephanie Guitton and Peter Irons, editors, New Press, 1995 (Book and audiocassettes).
National Survey of State Laws, 6th ed., Gale Group, 2008, chapter 22.
"The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003," by Alex Gordon, 41 Harvard Journal on Legislation 501 (2004). Also available online to library card holders through Hein Online.
Representing the Child Client, by Michael J. Dale, et al., Lexis, loose-leaf, sec. 3.02[2][c].
"The Right to Choose, Neutrality, and Abortion Consent in Massachusetts," by Daniel Avila, 38 Suffolk University Law Review 511 (2004). Also available online to library card holders through Hein Online.
Roe v. Wade: United States Supreme Court, Bo Schambelan, editor, Running Press, 1992.
West's Encyclopedia of American Law, West Group, 2004, vol.1, pp.10-21.