Boston archbishop, Massachusetts Catholic leaders denounce Gov. Maura Healey's emergency abortion move

Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald on Nov 9, 2026

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BOSTON — Boston’s Archbishop Richard Henning and other local Catholic leaders denounced Gov. Maura Healey’s emergency declaration on abortions, saying that abortions aren’t healthcare.

“Having read the Governor’s editorial defending her decision to override the results of the Repeal188 efforts, we respectfully and passionately disagree that abortion, the taking of human life, may be considered healthcare,” Henning, Bishop Robert Joseph McManus, of Worcester, Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha, of Fall River, and Bishop William Byrne, of Springfield, wrote in a statement published over the weekend.

“We also disagree that there is an emergency requiring the further expansion of the existing and already radically permissive law,” they added.

Healey signed the declaration Friday in an effort to make sure that an abortion law passed earlier this year would go into effect as originally planned.

The law, called, “An Act Prioritizing Patient Access to Care,” allows abortions performed after 24 weeks to proceed at the discretion of a physician, removing requirements that the mother’s life or health be at risk, or that the fetus is not viable or likely to live after birth.

Healey signed the bill into law in August and it was supposed to take effect within 90 days of that signing on Nov. 8. However a petition from Massachusetts Citizens for Life that had garnered more than 100,000 signatures to get a question about the law on the ballot was threatening to delay the law until at least 2028.

The governor’s move blocked that potential delay.

Some, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, had praised Healey’s decision.

“In the last few months, at least nine families have been told they must seek abortion care in other states, away from their communities and trusted medical providers, adding to the stress and financial costs of an already painful situation,” Carol Rose, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. “This is a real and ongoing health care emergency, and it’s critical that the law goes into effect this weekend as planned.

But others, including the group that had created the petition, criticized it.

Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of the local Citizens for Life chapter, said in a statement that the declaration “reflects an utter disregard for the men and women she was elected to represent.”

On Saturday, local Catholic leaders also weighed in. According to the church’s doctrine, abortions are not permitted.

“We call upon the legislators who crafted and passed this bill, and all men and women of good will, to reconsider the troubling state of our culture and its utilitarian and merciless approach to the elderly, the sick, the vulnerable, and the unborn,” Henning and the other bishops wrote. “As Pope Leo put it: ‘The right to life is the indispensable foundation of every other human right.’”

The church leaders said that they were grateful to the coalition that moved the petition forward.

“Our work continues as we heed the call of the Gospel to defend life at all stages. We pray for our Governor and legislators that the Lord may inspire wise and compassionate leadership,” the statement said. “We call upon all to support families, especially those in crisis, and to build a culture that supports and loves every member of the human family.”

When asked by the Boston Herald for a comment of the bishops’ statement, a Healey spokesperson pointed to a substack post she published after making the declaration.

“I am Catholic, and my faith is an important part of who I am,” Healey wrote, noting that it has shaped her positively. “I am also Governor for people of every faith and belief. My responsibility is to ensure that every family can make deeply personal medical decisions according to their own circumstances, values and the guidance of their doctors.”

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