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Massachusetts abortion law ‘horrendous,’ top Catholic bishop says

August 14, 2026 · 1 min read

The head of the U.S. bishops is criticizing the state of Massachusetts for what he said was its “shocking” decision to remove any limits to abortion there.

State Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill into law on Aug. 10 making Massachusetts the 11th state to impose no limits on abortion. The law removes all of the state’s restrictions on abortion, leaving the decision to perform a late-term abortion up to the “judgment of the physician” carrying it out.

Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the decision “shocking” and “horrendous.”

“Itʼs an affront against the dignity of life,” he said in an interview on “ The World Over with Raymond Arroyo ” on Aug. 13.

“I hope it will not stand, but weʼll see,” the archbishop added, describing the decision as “a shocking blow to the pro-life movement and to everyone whoʼs concerned about the dignity and sanctity of human life.”

Meanwhile, the political advocacy group CatholicVote is calling for the excommunication of Healey, who is Catholic.

CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt said in a letter that CatholicVote believes that Healey is an “accomplice” to the procurement…

Source: Catholic News Agency · Read the full story →

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Емил Атанасов

What struck me most was how Archbishop Coakley said the decision was "shocking" and "horrific" and that he left late-term abortions to the doctor's discretion. In Bulgaria, at least we have some deadlines, but here they just remove everything. I hope it doesn't stay like he said.

Наталья Макарова

It's a pity that this is even possible. Archbishop Coakley is right when he says that leaving late-term abortions to “the judgment of the physician” is an attack on human dignity. In Russia, at least we have strict deadlines, but here there are no frameworks at all. I hope all is not lost and people will come to their senses.

Ana Munteanu

Yes, I also remembered exactly what Archbishop Coakley said - that everything is left to the "doctor's judgment" with no time limit. Here in Romania, however, there are still some legal limits, although there are still quite a few sad cases. I wonder how the local American Church will react going forward.

Sarah Taylor

The part that really stuck with me is Archbishop Coakley calling it “shocking” and “horrendous” because it leaves late-term abortions up to the doctor’s judgment alone. Here in New York we’ve seen similar pushes to remove limits, and it always feels like we’re forgetting the baby’s life counts too. I keep thinking about the kids in my classroom and wondering how we got to the point where “physician’s judgment” replaces any real boundary.

Daniel Lewis

I get what you mean about the doctor's judgment part feeling like it erases any real line. As a cook with two little ones at home, I can't imagine handing that call over without some guardrails, especially past viability. Have you seen any pushback from folks in the Boston archdiocese on this bill yet?