Full Breakdown
Massachusetts Abortion Law Sparks Call for Episcopal Discipline
8/23/2026, 9:17:43 PM
Core Event
Governor Maura Healey signed a law in mid-August that removes Massachusetts’ previous 24-week abortion limit, allowing abortions up to the point of birth based on a physician’s judgment. The measure makes the Commonwealth the 10th state to permit such late-term procedures and is scheduled to take effect later this year.
CatholicVote’s Appeal to Bishops
CatholicVote president and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt sent a letter to Massachusetts bishops urging them to determine whether Governor Healey, a Catholic, has incurred automatic excommunication under canon law. Reinhardt framed Healey’s action as “an accomplice in abortion” and argued that bishops must move beyond public criticism to impose formal discipline. She emphasized that the law ends a long-standing “cover” that allowed Catholic politicians to personally oppose abortion while supporting its legality.
Bishop Robert Barron’s Condemnation
He also criticized the “entirely female crowd” surrounding Governor Healey at the signing, labeling the legislation “barbaric.” Senator Mike Lee reposted Barron’s comments, adding that the crowd was “clapping and cackling with delight” over what he called “infanticide.”
Broader Catholic-Political Tension
Reinhardt and Barron referenced historic disputes, citing former New York Governor Mario Cuomo’s 1984 Notre Dame speech and the 2022 denial of Holy Communion to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. Reinhardt reiterated that disciplinary tools are available to bishops, suggesting that public advocacy of abortion places a politician in “grave sin” and warrants sacramental denial.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We’ve seen generations of Catholic politicians now claim this same exception,” — Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO
- “It’s left entirely to the bishops,” — Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO
- “It’s certainly a tool that bishops have in their legislative disciplinary toolbox, which is to say, you know, actually you’ve found yourself in a state of grave sin because you’ve publicly advocated for this so I can no longer give you the Holy Sacrament,” — Reinhardt. CLICK HERE TO
