Despite rapidly escalating cuts to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has signed a groundbreaking new act that will expand and add protections to reproductive and transgender healthcare.
The bill, S.2538, takes several actions to safeguard patients, providers, insurers, tech companies, and others from federal investigations related to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare. S.2538, has been nicknamed the “Shield Act 2.0” after the original 2022 shield law, enacted by former Governor Charlie Baker, which prohibits states that have banned life-saving healthcare treatment from punishing those who travel to Massachusetts to receive it.
The bill adds reproductive and gender-affirming care providers’ personal information to the list of protected non-public information under the public records law. State entities are prohibited from disclosing identifiable patient or provider information to out-of-state or federal agencies, and businesses are prevented from relinquishing communications data in cases involving out-of-state targets targeting reproductive and gender-affirming care. New prescription drug rules allow labels to list the clinic’s name instead of the doctor’s name to protect their identities.
To protect patients, medical data is only available to individuals authorized by the patient to access it. Courts in Massachusetts are not allowed to remove custody from a parent who permitted their child to undergo gender-affirming care, and the state cannot discipline lawyers who advise or represent clients with reproductive or gender-affirming care cases where it might be illegal elsewhere. Hospitals must also provide stabilizing care, including abortion, for emergency medical conditions, such as placental abruption or preeclampsia.
Governor Healey called the law during its August 7 signing, “the strongest law in America that will protect reproductive health care, gender-affirming care, and those who provide it.” Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll furthered her point: “Massachusetts is home to the best health care providers in the country, and we aren’t going to let them be intimidated or punished for providing lifesaving care. Together with the Legislature, we are reminding the entire country yet again that Massachusetts is a place where everyone can safely access the health care they need and deserve.”
For Massachusetts residents, their government has made clear that Massachusetts will not back down from protecting the rights of its constituents, even as access is restricted in many other states. Although one in three American women now resides in a state where abortion access is restricted, Healey’s passage of the new law stands as a beacon of hope for women and LGBTQ youth seeking essential healthcare.