The state’s new Attorney General has introduced she’s going to accomplice with civil rights organizations and native regulation corporations to supply free authorized recommendation to these in search of reproductive and gender-affirming care in Massachusetts from out of state.
“Today, our office, in partnership with reproductive equity now, the Women’s Bar Foundation, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and five incredible law firms, who have offered pro bono services, is pleased to announce we’re expanding our efforts, to increase access to abortion resources by launching a free — free — legal advice hotline that will be run by the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation and the Women’s Bar Foundation,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell stated Monday.
After the June announcement the U.S. Supreme Court would determine the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization by overturning their 1973 choice in Roe v. Wade, thus eradicating federal protections for first-term abortion nationally, the state handed, in response to Campbell, the strongest reproductive rights laws within the nation.
As a consequence, and maybe predictably, the state has seen an uptick in visits by ladies from the handfuls of states which have since moved to dam entry to abortion, who’re apparently arriving within the Commonwealth in want of reproductive or gender-affirming care, in response to Rebecca Hart Holder, the President of Reproductive Equity Now Foundation.
“As soon as SB.8 was passed into law, which is the 6-week ban in Texas last September, we saw people coming to Massachusetts for care,” she stated. “That has only increased post-Dobbs, but also as soon as we passed the shield law, we started getting questions from providers: ‘What can we do? How can we be safe? Will I get arrested? What’s going to happen to my home if I get sued?’ So this is in response to very real patient and provider questions.”
Hart Holder stated knowledge on the precise variety of individuals arriving within the state to obtain abortion or gender-affirming care following the Supreme Court’s choice is just not but obtainable, however is being collected by the Department of Health and Human Services. She stated about half of these in search of authorized recommendation are from out of state.
“Our Legislature has passed sweeping laws to protect reproductive rights in the Commonwealth, now these laws include measures that ensure Massachusetts providers will also be able to help patients from other states who need abortion care,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren stated. U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark and Ayanna Pressley have been additionally each available.
The hotline, which went reside at 7 a.m. Monday, may be reached by calling or texting (833) 309-6301. Callers will probably be requested to go away contact info and their authorized questions however are usually not required to present their names. The voicemail message signifies a name will, hopefully, be returned with authorized recommendation in 48 to 72 hours.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”