Governor Maura Healey has signed the “Shield Act 2.0”.(Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Out lesbian Governor Maura Healey has signed the “Shield Act 2.0”, which she has called “the strongest law in America” enshrining gender-affirming care and abortion rights in the state of Massachusetts.
Healey, who became the first out lesbian governor in US history in 2023, signed an updated shield law last Thursday (7 August) to strengthen the state’s protections for reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare workers and patients, even in the case of federal investigations.
During the public bill-signing ceremony, Healey said the law is “the strongest law in America that will protect reproductive health care, gender-affirming care, and those who provide it”.
The governor also noted the state’s positive reputation for family life and healthcare, after the blue state was named the best state to raise a family and have a baby in WalletHub’s 2025 reports, respectively. Two of the state’s hospitals also made the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 honour roll, which lists the top hospitals across the nation in multiple areas of care.
“That happens because of good policy and good work,” she said during a press conference. “In Massachusetts, you have the freedom, you have a choice, you have the free will to make health care decisions for yourself and your family. I think that’s so fundamental,” she said.
The act will prevent sensitive data, including the practising doctor’s name, from being disclosed. The law will prohibit Massachusetts-based authorities from working with federal and out-of-state healthcare investigations, including abortions. It also outlines that abortions are to be carried out in emergencies when medically necessary.
Despite the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion remains legal in Massachusetts up to 24 weeks of gestation, and after 24 weeks in the cases of fatal foetal abnormalities and when the physical or mental health of a pregnant person is in danger, as per Planned Parenthood.
“It strengthens access to care. It bans discrimination. It protects the privacy and safety of those seeking reproductive care, gender-affirming care,” Healey said.
“No one is going to come to Massachusetts and attack our people, attack our institutions, attack our providers because we believe in freedom.”
LGBTQ+ and women’s health advocates, including Reproductive Equity Now, Health Imperatives, Fenway Health, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Bingham and Women’s Hospital gynaecologist Nicole Smith, were all present to support of Healey’s “Shield Act 2.0”.
When Roe was overturned, Massachusetts didn’t hesitate to protect patients and providers. Today, we took those protections to the next level.
Grateful to the Legislature and advocates who got the Shield Act 2.0 to my desk. No one will prevent the people of Massachusetts from… pic.twitter.com/XmhtJuBY28
— Governor Maura Healey (@MassGovernor) August 7, 2025
Dallas Ducar, a clinical nurse leader and executive at Fenway Health, added: “This commonwealth has made something crystal clear: We will not back down.”
“It’s a true honour today to celebrate a law that will save lives, including my own and so many other trans people who I know, so many trans kids out there who go to Fenway Health every day, among so many other organisations and receive life-saving care,” she said.
For abortion support in the US, visit Planned Parenthood here. If this story has affected you, call the Trans Lifeline Hotline to speak to a trans/nonbinary peer operator with full anonymity and confidentiality at (877) 565-8860. Support is available Monday-Friday, 10 AM – 6 PM Pacific, 11 AM – 7 PM Mountain, 12 PM – 8 PM Central, and 1 PM – 9 PM Eastern.
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