Mayor Marty Walsh stood alongside mayors from the Commonwealth to show support for a bill at the statehouse to protect abortion rights.
The support was for the ROE Act – an act to remove obstacles and expand abortion access – and for the Commonwealth to not be able to take away a person’s right to end a pregnancy. The ROE Act would also prevent the state from restricting medically safe ways to get an abortion and remove the needed parent consent for teens.
This bill is sponsored by Sen. Harriette Chandler. It would allow for an abortion up to 24 weeks from the start of the pregnancy. However, it would allow for some cases after 24 weeks if the person is diagnosed fatal fetal anomaly.
Walsh believes the right to choose is a healthcare issue and shouldn’t be taken away from citizens.
“This is a state that has led the way to healthcare reform,” he said in front of a crowd at the statehouse. “This is a state that led the way on reproductive rights.”
Walsh said taking away the right to choose is going backwards for the country.
“We are let going to let us go backwards. We shouldn’t be taking the rights away from people,” he said. We shouldn’t be taking the rights away from women. We shouldn’t be taking the rights away from families.”
Walsh was joined by mayors from Lawrence, Framingham, Newburyport, Cambridge and Easthampton earlier this week.
“They are putting women’s health and lives in danger,” Walsh said. “We are not going to stand for that here.”
“That’s why we’re putting a stake in the ground here in Massachusetts. That’s why we, as mayors today, are going to stand shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues in the Senate and the House and demand that action happens, that this bill be taken up, that this bill goes to the governor’s desk so that we can continue to add protections here in Massachusetts,” Walsh added.
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