Pro-Lifers Race to Halt Massachusetts Abortion Law
Advocates must gather 49,716 signatures by Oct. 23 to pause Gov. Healey’s limit-free abortion law until a 2028 repeal vote.
Pro-life advocates in Massachusetts launched the Repeal 188 veto referendum initiative on or around October 15, aiming to challenge a new state law that removes all gestational limits on abortion.
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed the measure on August 10. The statute allows abortion procedures at any stage of pregnancy and for any reason, making Massachusetts the 11th state with such a policy.
The effort seeks to place a repeal question on the 2028 statewide ballot and, if sufficient signatures are collected, to suspend the law before that vote. Organizers must gather at least 37,289 signatures—equal to 1.5 percent of the votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election—to qualify for the ballot. To suspend the law prior to the referendum, they need 49,716 signatures, or 2 percent. Campaign leaders have set a working goal of 50,000 signatures and are prepared to collect as many as 100,000, in part because state rules limit any single county to no more than 25 percent of the total signatures submitted.
A Tight Window for Signatures
Massachusetts Citizens for Life President Myrna Flynn said in a campaign video, “If we receive 50,000 signatures by October 23, Massachusetts voters — not activist politicians — will get to decide this very important issue in 2028.” She stressed that only registered Massachusetts voters may sign and that petitions must be collected locally.
A Massachusetts resident and parish pro-life committee member helping with the drive noted that many parishioners at his church remained unaware of the petition effort.
Bishops Call the Law an Affront to Life
Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the Massachusetts law “shocking” and “horrendous,” describing it as “an affront against the dignity of life.” The state’s Catholic bishops condemned the statute as “a radical measure which is gravely immoral.”
CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt spoke of Healey, who identifies as Catholic: “Healey is a Catholic in a state of grave sin. She has publicly and now legislatively cooperated in the destruction of innocent human life.” Reinhardt called for her excommunication.
The referendum drive highlights continuing state battles over late-term abortion and parental involvement. Catholic leaders and pro-life groups are mobilizing support as the October 23 signature target approaches.