Sponsor: Representative Elizabeth Poirier

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts supports legislation that protects women’s access to safe, legal abortion services. Although the “Woman’s Right to Know” bill purports to protect women’s health, it would actually force a woman seeking an abortion to delay her medical care and subject her to intrusive and unnecessary state-scripted “counseling,” regardless of her circumstances. Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts opposes the undue burden that HB482 would put on women and health care providers. This bill is misguided and unnecessarily intrudes upon the doctor-patient relationship.  

Current informed consent laws establish medically-appropriate standards for care
A woman should be fully informed before consenting to a medical procedure.  Much like patients undergoing other procedures, patients seeking an abortion must be informed about the procedure, their options and any potential complications. Massachusetts has an additional informed consent law specific to abortion, which requires that a woman be informed about the type of procedure that will be used, possible complications, and abortion alternatives. Current standards of “informed consent” allow a woman to carefully weigh her options before reaching an informed decision, in consultation with her doctor. Despite already established guidelines, supporters of HB482 seek to create additional requirements that would intrude on these private, personal decisions and create harmful barriers to care.

This bill restricts women’s access to medical care
HB482 would force doctors and other health care professionals to provide women with excessive, state-scripted “counseling” at least 24 hours prior to an abortion. Instead of helping women, in practice such a requirement could cause a significant delay in a woman’s ability to obtain appropriate medical care. Most women seeking abortions in the Commonwealth must already wait several days – if not a week or more – in order to schedule an abortion due to a lack of providers. For women who have language barriers, lack literacy skills or internet access, or are victims of domestic violence, the requirements proposed in HB482 could mean extra visits to their doctor. Extra visits mean extra time off work, extra costs in transportation and child care, and extra emotional turmoil.

This bill dramatically changes the doctor/patient relationship
HB482 goes beyond what is appropriate and medically-necessary for women seeking abortion care by mandating that doctors provide voluminous information – even if it might be inappropriate for a woman’s health or life circumstances. One of the cornerstones of American medicine is that physicians have special relationships with their patients where they jointly decide on care and treatment that meets the individual needs of the patient. Such a mandate could also cause further hardship for a woman making a difficult decision about her pregnancy. For instance, a woman who discovers a severe anomaly during her wanted pregnancy would be offered color photographs, a “description of the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child at two-week gestational increments,” and an opportunity to view an ultrasound and hear the heartbeat.  Similarly, doctors would be forced to tell a rape or incest survivor about “support obligations of the father.”

This bill misdirects vital state resources
Within 90 days of the bill’s signing, the Department of Public Health would be required to develop a brochure, website, and audio recording containing all of the mandated information; and these materials would have to be reviewed and updated annually. As we seek to improve the delivery of health care services on both the state and national level, Massachusetts should be spending time on proposals that will improve patient care.  Nothing about HB482 will improve patient care. In fact, it will only reduce access and compromise patient care. Instead of creating another barrier for women, we should stand by a woman’s right to obtain a safe and legal abortion.

For more information or questions on this legislation please contact Government Relations Manager Matthew Brunner at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 617-629-8690.