Massachusetts removes 24-week abortion limit, allows procedures up to birth
Governor Maura Healey signs H.B. 5595, making the state the 11th US jurisdiction to permit abortions at any stage of pregnancy
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Photograph: The Federalist (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed H.B. 5595 on 10 August 2026, removing the state’s 24-week abortion ban and permitting abortions up to birth with a doctor’s approval.
- The law will take effect 90 days after signing, making Massachusetts the 11th US jurisdiction to allow abortions at any stage of pregnancy.
- No Republican legislators supported the bill, and 10 Democrats voted against it, citing concerns over late-term procedures and lack of safeguards.
- No left- or centre-rated outlet covered the signing, according to the reports below.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 8 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 10 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
66/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
55/100
10 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 8 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed H.B. 5595 into law on 10 August 2026. The bill removes the state’s 24-week limit on abortions, allowing the procedure up to birth with a doctor’s "professional judgment". The law will take effect 90 days after signing, making Massachusetts the 11th jurisdiction in the US, alongside 10 states and the District of Columbia, to permit abortions at any stage of pregnancy.
The bill’s press release states it aims to "strengthen protections for patients and providers" amid nationwide restrictions on reproductive rights. Healey’s office framed the law as a response to actions by the Trump administration and state legislatures pushing abortion bans. The governor posted on X that "no matter what Donald Trump does, we will protect your reproductive freedom."
Republican legislators opposed the bill, with none voting in favour. Ten Democrats also voted against it. Representative Kelley Pease, a Republican, said the bill’s passage blindsided the caucus, as it was fast-tracked through the Senate without a full committee process. Representative Justin Thurber, another Republican, criticised the law for removing "clear medical criteria" and allowing a single physician to approve late-term abortions without safeguards or a second opinion.
Healey cited cases of Massachusetts couples who travelled out of state for late-term abortions as justification for the law. Kate Dineen and Alex Lawton, a Boston couple, were present at the signing. In 2021, Dineen’s son suffered a stroke in utero at 33 weeks. Unable to obtain an abortion in Massachusetts at the time, the couple travelled to Maryland for a procedure costing $10,000. Dineen, a board member of the pro-abortion group Reproductive Equity Now, called the law "righting this wrong once and for all."
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests or *The Federalist*’s full report mentioned the 10 Democrats who voted against the bill. The digests did not include statements from Democratic legislators who supported the law, such as Senate bill sponsor Robyn Kennedy, who was quoted in the bill’s press release as saying the law was a response to "attacks on reproductive care" by the Trump administration.
No left- or centre-rated outlet ran this story, according to the reports below.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 11 Aug 2026, 21:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
8 rated outlets
- The six right-rated digests and the full report in *The Federalist* led on the law’s removal of the 24-week limit, framing it as permitting abortions "up to birth" or "minutes before birth for any reason." *The Federalist* described the law as allowing abortions "for any reason with a doctor’s 'professional judgment,'" and quoted Republican legislators who called the process "fast-tracked" and lacking safeguards.
- The digests and *The Federalist* highlighted the emotional tone of the signing ceremony. *The Federalist* reported that Healey was surrounded by "smiling faces and applause," while the digests described women in the room as "cheering" or "gleefully" celebrating the law. *LifeSiteNews*’ digest quoted a social media user calling the law’s supporters "murderers," and *WLTReport*’s digest described the law as "pure evil" and "murder, plain and simple."
- *The Federalist* quoted Healey’s X post, which stated, "No matter what Donald Trump does, we will protect your reproductive freedom," and noted her change to the phrase "safe, legal, and rare" to "safe, legal and accessible." The outlet also quoted Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who condemned the law as permitting "barbaric" late-term abortions and called for national protections for unborn children.
- The digests and *The Federalist* included the story of Kate Dineen and Alex Lawton, the couple who travelled to Maryland for a late-term abortion. *The Federalist* reported that Dineen described the experience as feeling like "fugitives fleeing our home state" and quoted her statement at the signing that Massachusetts was "righting this wrong once and for all."
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
8- Massachusetts’ New Abortion Law is ‘Normalizing the Deaths of Fully-Developed Infants,’ Pro-Lifers Warn (opens National Review in a new tab)
National Review — is National Review biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Massachusetts governor signs sweeping abortion bill – all the way to birth (opens Bizpac Review in a new tab)
Bizpac Review — is Bizpac Review biased? Our profile of this outlet
- New MA Law Allows Abortion Minutes Before Birth For Any Reason (opens The Federalist in a new tab)
The Federalist — is The Federalist biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demonic: Massachusetts Legalizes Abortion UP TO BIRTH As Liberals Cheer (opens modernity.news in a new tab)
modernity.news — is modernity.news biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Massachusetts Signs Bill Allowing Abortions Up to Birth (opens American Faith in a new tab)
American Faith — is American Faith biased? Our profile of this outlet
- 'Murderers': Democrats cheer abortion til birth in Massachusetts (opens LifeSiteNews in a new tab)
LifeSiteNews — is LifeSiteNews biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Massachusetts Celebrates Removing The Guardrails On Late-Term Abortion (opens ussanews.com in a new tab)
ussanews.com — is ussanews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- PURE EVIL: Massachusetts Governor Signs Law Allowing Abortions Up to BIRTH (opens WLTReport in a new tab)
WLTReport — is WLTReport biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Not rated
2- They Kill Babies – and Destroy the Conscience (opens JUNGE FREIHEIT in a new tab)
JUNGE FREIHEIT — is JUNGE FREIHEIT biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- New MA Law Allows Abortion Minutes Before Birth For Any Reason (opens Conservative News Daily in a new tab)
Conservative News Daily — is Conservative News Daily biased? Our profile of this outlet
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Massachusetts removes 24-week abortion limit, allows procedures up to…?
- Of the 8 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 100% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 10. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Massachusetts removes 24-week abortion limit, allows procedures up to… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 8 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Massachusetts removes 24-week abortion limit, allows procedures up to… biased?
- Massachusetts removes 24-week abortion limit, allows procedures up to birth is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Massachusetts removes 24-week abortion limit, allows procedures up to…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Massachusetts removes 24-week abortion limit, allows procedures up to…?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What does the new Massachusetts abortion law allow?
- The law removes the state’s 24-week abortion ban, permitting procedures up to birth with a doctor’s approval. It takes effect 90 days after signing, making Massachusetts the 11th US jurisdiction to allow abortions at any stage of pregnancy. The law aims to strengthen protections for patients and providers amid nationwide restrictions.
- Who opposed the Massachusetts abortion law?
- No Republican legislators supported the bill, and 10 Democrats voted against it. Republican Representative Justin Thurber criticised the law for removing "clear medical criteria" and allowing a single physician to approve late-term abortions without safeguards. Anti-abortion groups, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, condemned the law.
- Which outlets covered the Massachusetts abortion law?
- Six right-rated outlets ran digests of the story, and *The Federalist* published a full report. The digests and *The Federalist* emphasised the law’s removal of the 24-week limit and the emotional tone of the signing ceremony. No left- or centre-rated outlet covered the signing, according to the reports below.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
