BOSTON – In response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, released on Friday, Governor Charlie Baker signed an executive order to protect access to reproductive health care services in Massachusetts.
Baker said he is “deeply disappointed” by the Court’s decision, and that it “will have major consequences for women across the country who live in states with limited access to reproductive health care services.”
Baker said his executive order “will further preserve that right and protect reproductive health care providers who serve out of state residents.”
Under the executive order, Massachusetts will not cooperate with extradition requests from other states pursuing criminal charges against individuals who received, assisted with, or performed reproductive health services that are legal in Massachusetts.
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 case Roe v. Wade and the 1992 case Casey v. Planned Parenthood. Those cases protected a woman’s right to abortion procedures, with certain limitations.
Thirteen states have laws previously passed by state legislatures that go into effect that range from immediately to 30 days from today as a result of the court ruling. While the details are different in each state, they ban nearly all abortion procedures and create criminal penalties for breaking those laws.
