Repeal Backers Say They Have 97,000 Signatures Against the New Abortion Law. Healey Holds the Next Move.

A coalition seeking to repeal the abortion law Gov. Maura Healey signed in August says it has gathered far more signatures than it needs to put the question before Massachusetts voters in 2028, and enough to freeze the law until then. Whether that freeze actually happens now depends on a state certification process that has not started yet and on a decision that sits entirely with the governor.

The Compassionate Care Coalition, led by Massachusetts Citizens for Life and Massachusetts Family Action, announced on Oct. 29 that local clerks had certified 97,276 signatures, according to State House News Service and WBUR. The law is scheduled to take effect Sunday, Nov. 8.

What the law does

The law removes the criteria in state statute that governed abortions later in pregnancy and defers instead to a provider’s medical judgment, State House News Service reported. Under the 2020 ROE Act, abortion is restricted from 24 weeks of pregnancy unless the patient’s life or health is at risk or the fetus has a grave or lethal diagnosis, GBH News explained. GBH reported that the new law would make Massachusetts the 10th state, along with Washington, D.C., without gestational limits.

The House passed the bill 119-33 on July 22, and the Senate approved it on a voice vote on July 31. Healey signed it on Aug. 10, starting a standard 90-day clock to the Nov. 8 effective date.

The numbers that matter

• 37,289 signatures: the minimum needed to place a repeal question on the November 2028 ballot, according to WBUR.
• 49,716 signatures: the higher threshold needed to suspend the law until voters decide.
• 97,276 signatures: the total the coalition says local clerks have certified.
• Nov. 6: the deadline to file the petitions with Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s office.

Those figures come from the coalition and from local certifications. The final, official count belongs to the secretary’s office, which had received only a small number of petitions as of late last week, spokesperson Debra O’Malley told WBUR. Certification typically takes one to two weeks and begins only after the filing deadline passes, and any suspension takes effect only once that certification is complete.

Healey’s option

Massachusetts law gives a governor a way to stop a referendum from suspending a law: an emergency preamble, which makes the measure take effect immediately and keeps it in force until voters decide. Healey used that tool in 2024 to keep a sweeping gun law in place while opponents pursued a repeal referendum, the same repeal voters will decide as Question 9 on Tuesday. State House News Service reported that she has until the November 2028 election to attach a preamble to the abortion law.

So far the governor has not said what she will do. Her office said she “continues to monitor the referendum process and evaluate options,” according to WBUR. Spokesperson Jacqueline Manning has described the law as intended for parents facing devastating circumstances late in pregnancy.

Where each side stands

Coalition chair Sam Miele has argued that the earlier ROE Act already covered situations in which a patient’s life is at risk; he told GBH the prior law “already addressed all of those concerns.” All four of the state’s Catholic bishops oppose the new law, and Miele credited volunteers, pastors and parish staff with driving the signature effort.

Supporters see it differently. State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, a Northampton Democrat who sponsored the bill in the House, told GBH she stands behind it and wants the signatures certified before the repeal effort is addressed. Kathleen Melendy, Massachusetts state director of Reproductive Equity Now, said in a statement that medical decisions belong to patients and their doctors and that most Massachusetts voters support abortion access. Advocates and providers have said abortions later in pregnancy are rare, and GBH reported that dozens of residents have traveled out of state in recent years for care in medically complicated pregnancies.

The Boston Made Take

Boston Made notes that the next two weeks will turn on procedure more than persuasion. The coalition’s announced total clears both thresholds by a wide margin, so the practical questions are how quickly the secretary’s office certifies the final count and whether the governor acts before or after that happens. Because certification cannot begin until after Nov. 6, and the law’s start date is Nov. 8, there may be a short window in which the law is technically in effect before any suspension lands. How that window is handled has not been spelled out publicly.

Boston Made also notes the timing. Massachusetts voters go to the polls Tuesday on nine ballot questions, including the gun-law repeal that exists only because of a similar referendum petition, and Healey faces Republican Mike Minogue in the governor’s race. A decision on an emergency preamble would therefore come after Election Day, by a governor either newly re-elected or newly defeated, and it would set the terms of a statewide campaign that would run for two more years either way.

What it means for you

• Voters will not decide this question on Tuesday; if certified, it would appear on the November 2028 ballot.
• Patients and providers should watch for official guidance from the state, since the law’s Nov. 8 start date and any suspension may overlap.
• Anyone who signed a petition can follow the certification through the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office in the weeks after Nov. 6.
• Everyone should expect an announcement from the governor’s office on whether an emergency preamble will be used.

Discussion

1. Should governors be able to use emergency preambles to keep laws in place during referendum campaigns?
2. Is a two-year campaign leading up to 2028 good or bad for the public debate on this issue?
3. Should the signature thresholds for suspending a law be higher than those for simply reaching the ballot?