Democrats For Life of America Joins Coalition to Repeal Massachusetts Chapter 188
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2026
DFLA: Women deserve quality care and meaningful health and safety protections, regardless of where they stand on abortion
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) announced today that it is joining the coalition led by Compassionate Care, Massachusetts Citizens for Life and the Massachusetts Family Action, who are working torepeal Chapter 188, the recently enacted Massachusetts abortion law that removed several restrictions governing abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Governor Maura Healey signed Chapter 188 on August 10, 2026. The law removed the four statutory circumstances that previously governed abortions after 24 weeks and replaced them with a standard allowing an abortion to be performed by a physician based on the physician’s professional judgment. It also eliminated the previous requirement that abortions after 24 weeks, except in emergencies, be performed in a hospital.
DFLA Executive Director Kristen Day said the organization believes the law goes too far and that the issue should transcend the political divide over abortion.
“Regardless of where someone stands on the legality of abortion, women deserve quality medical care and meaningful health and safety protections. Abortion is already legal in Massachusetts. The question before us is whether legal abortion should also mean abandoning reasonable safeguards, particularly for procedures later in pregnancy.”
For years, prominent Democrats described their goal as keeping abortion “safe, legal and rare.” President Bill Clinton used that formulation repeatedly, while the 1996 Democratic platform stated that its goal was to make abortion “less necessary and more rare, not more difficult and more dangerous.”
“Democrats should be able to have a serious conversation about what the word safe means,” Day said. “We need to take the politics out of women’s health and safety decisions. Women deserve support. They deserve high-quality medical care. And when complications occur, particularly during later procedures, they deserve a medical setting equipped to respond to an emergency.”
DFLA pointed to the death of 18-year-old Alexis “Lexi” Arguello in Colorado as one reason safety standards surrounding later abortions deserve greater public scrutiny. According to her released autopsy report, Arguello died in February 2025 from complications following a second-trimester surgical abortion at approximately 22 weeks of pregnancy at a Planned Parenthood facility in Fort Collins. The report identified complications of surgical pregnancy termination, including disseminated intravascular coagulation, with probable amniotic-fluid embolism, refractory shock and multiorgan failure among the significant contributing conditions.
“What happened to Lexi should remind all of us that these are medical procedures and serious complications can occur,” Day said. “Protecting women should never become secondary to protecting a political position on abortion.”
DFLA is joining the Repeal 188 coalition, which is pursuing a referendum effort to suspend and repeal Chapter 188.
Former Franklin Town Councilor Patrick Sheridan said Democrats should not have to abandon concerns about medical safeguards in order to support their party.
“Massachusetts Democrats should be willing to say that women’s health and safety come before abortion politics. Abortion was already legal in Massachusetts. Chapter 188 was not necessary to protect legal abortion, and removing safeguards for abortions later in pregnancy is not the direction our party should be going. Democrats once talked about keeping abortion safe, legal and rare. It is time for us to return to that common-sense approach and make sure women receive the highest standard of care.”
DFLA also recognized the ten Democratic members of the Massachusetts House who voted against H.5595 on final enactment, joining Republican and independent colleagues in opposing the legislation. The final House vote was 121–35.
“We are proud to stand with the Democrats who were willing to question this law and put women’s health and safety ahead of party pressure,” Day said. “There should still be room in the Democratic Party to say that abortion can be legal while also insisting on reasonable standards of care.”
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