MennoNet.com

https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/08/11/go ... usetts-law

Massachusetts now allows abortions right up until birth (and, let's be frank, we all know that means abortions happen after birth, too).

The law (H 5595) eliminates the existing four-pronged framework enabling abortions for pregnancies at or beyond 24 weeks in life-threatening situations for the patient or fetus, instead writing a new law that states "an abortion may be performed by a physician based upon the professional judgment of the physician."

"We've heard so many stories — stories that are filled with a lot of pain and anguish and heartache and a lot of trauma. We heard stories about the worst moments of a person's life, of a couple's life," Healey said, surrounded by lawmakers, advocates and physicians at a press conference she hosted in her ceremonial office. "We're signing this law today so that new patients, people we won't know or won't meet, will be able to get the care that they need in Massachusetts."

One wonders what kind of "anguish" and "trauma" someone goes through. I guess it's really difficult not being allowed to kill your own baby - for some people.

Of course, this isn't the only ridiculous political activism going on with taking abortions to extremes; let's travel a bit east:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ince-alois

The first person Maria* called when she found out she was pregnant was her doctor. The second person was a lawyer. The single mother of one was in shock, and considering terminating the pregnancy. But she first had to make sure that she wasn’t about to do something illegal, because all she knew was that abortions were forbidden where she lived. “On top of the emotional mountain that was already there, I also had to deal with this,” Maria told me.

She also knew she wouldn’t get any information about abortions in her own country – that’s illegal too. After making her decision, she drove to a clinic across the border. It was a stressful, if short, 45-minute drive, at the end of which another hurdle was waiting: “Oh, you’re from Liechtenstein?” the receptionist said, according to Maria. “Then you have to pay immediately – 680 Swiss francs (£620) please.” She was taken aback and asked: “What if I can’t pay that right now?” The receptionist replied: “Then you’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

There hasn't been a baby born in Liechtenstein since 2012, and the entire country only registers around 350 babies born per year - mothers go to Switzerland or Austria to do so.

Yet we have abortion activists who are gravely concerned about:

1. The medical system in Switzerland and Austria has plenty of ways to get an abortion, but prefers them to be at more advanced hospitals. So the nearest one is 45 minutes away, because that's where the more sophisticated hospital is.

2. Liechtenstein is the wealthiest country in the world. The median salary is over $100k. Paying for an abortion is not exactly a problem. In practical terms, the minimum wage is around $60k US per year.

3. "Can't get any information about abortions in her own country" - isn't there something called the Internet? Or a phone call to Switzerland or Austria?

There aren't even any obstetricians who practice in the country. Pregnant women have to make a short trip across the border to see an OB-GYN type of doctor.

Yet this is all the liberal-progressive can think about: worrying that somewhere, somehow, there aren't as many abortions happening as easily as there could be.

Related topic: General Theology

P.6 / “Re: Political party - demands?”
https://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.ph ... 1&start=50

i cannot understand smiles+applause (cheering) for this Mass. law. It doesn’t seem possible.
There is no case imaginable where it would not be of the most grave matters.

It’s literally life and death. In every case.

I wonder if this is the logical endpoint for a culture of individual rights. As I understand it much of Europe, which has long bet excoriated by the religious Right in this country as secular and liberal, has limits on abortion around 20 weeks. Somehow the US at the extremes. My hope is this extreme position will prove unattractive and the general population will be repulsed.

barnhart:
My hope is this extreme position will prove unattractive and the general population will be repulsed.

^^overdue.

NY POST: “Massachusetts becomes the 10th state to remove gestational age limits”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-go ... s-up-birth
“It is up to the states to lead," Healey said. "And as governor, I promise that no matter what Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress or the Supreme Court does, we're going to continue to make sure that women and families have access to the health care that they need, right here in Massachusetts."

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser condemned the signing of the "egregious" law in a statement Monday, arguing that late-term abortions can involve dismemberment of the fetus.

"It should shock the conscience that tens of thousands of unborn Americans are barbarically dismembered limb by limb and torn apart every single year," she said. "Sadly, that number will only increase with Gov. Healey’s approval of the Abortion Up Until Birth Bill. The GOP must abandon the ‘leave it to the states’ position – a stance that permits egregious late-term abortion laws like this one – and advance national protections for unborn children."

Dannenfelser also argued that the U.S. is among a small number of countries that permit abortion throughout pregnancy.

"Without a minimum national standard, the United States remains 1 of only 8 countries worldwide that allows abortion at any point in pregnancy. We must do all we can to turn the page on America’s ugly chapter of late-term abortion."

The other countries that allow such procedures include
Australia,
Canada,
China,
Guinea-Bissau,
Mexico,
South Korea and
Vietnam, according to SBA.

barnhart wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2026 6:55 pm I wonder if this is the logical endpoint for a culture of individual rights. As I understand it much of Europe, which has long bet excoriated by the religious Right in this country as secular and liberal, has limits on abortion around 20 weeks. Somehow the US at the extremes. My hope is this extreme position will prove unattractive and the general population will be repulsed.

Well, many states in America either have very strict limits on abortion, like Texas, or reasonable limits on it, like Ohio (22 weeks).

It is only the most extreme, liberal-progressive states that allow it right up to birth:

Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, D.C.

We see notorious "blue states" in that list, plus two more states known for a general libertarian bent (Alaska and NH). Of note is the overlap in this list with states that tried drug decriminalisation (Oregon and Colorado).