Massachusetts lawmakers vote to legalize abortions for whatever reason up to birth according to a report.
Life News reported that the Massachusetts Senate together with the House of Representatives rejected the amendments made by Governor Charlie Baker last week along with the bill that would provide abortion survivors basic life support and care.
As per Life News, there were four each of Republicans and Democrats who voted against the pro-abortion bill against the 32 who voted for it. The said pro-life Democratic senators were Nick Collins, Michael Rush, Walter Timilty, and John Christopher Velis.
Baker approved the $46 billion budget bill but revised segments in Section 40 indicating that women who are still minors are prohibited from undertaking abortion without the consent of their parents.
A Republican who supports abortion, Baker accordingly was urged by pro-lifers to veto the amendment since it "would allow unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth, end parental consent for young girls seeking abortions, weaken the state anti-infanticide law, and allow non-doctors to abort unborn babies", Life News said.
Massachusetts For Life commended Baker's effort in a statement released in their website last December 11 that stressed the ambiguity of the phrase "fatal fetal abnormalities" that was given as a reason to allow abortion after 24 weeks.
"That term is ambiguous and not defined in the bill and opens the door to fatal error," read their statement, "Although there remains much in this bill with which to take issue, we thank Governor Baker for the common sense recommendation to raise the age for consent to abortion to 18."
State Representative Clare Cronin, Life News added, opposed abortion survivor support since it allegedly would "stigmatize" women seeking abortions.
This is despite polls conducted by pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List show that "most Americans oppose late-term abortions and support parental consent for minors" or at 62%, which is the same percentage for those who agree that parental consent be acquired for women below 18 years of age. Of this rate, Life News revealed that "49 percent of Democrat and 66 percent of independent voters" are against late term abortions.
"Massachusetts should step back to look at the real inequality for women. It is not about abortion access. It is about a choice to parent or carry the child to term. There is a real inequity in the lack of support and resources to choose alternatives to abortion, particularly for low-income and minority communities," Democrats For Life of America Executive Director Kristen Day told Life News previously.
"We urge the legislature to end this fixation on making abortion more common and less safe," they stressed.
The Boston Globe reported that Baker declined to give comments on his next steps for the rejected amendments and would actually have three options for it. One would be to outrightly veto the legislative and senate rejection, to sign it to law, or to allow it to become a law by declining to sign it.
WBUR explained that Democratic leaders in the house would need 106 votes minimum to override Baker should he veto the final version of the bill that would be submitted to him. The House would actually need two thirds' votes to achieve majority that will override Baker from vetoing the final version of the bill, if ever he does.
But due to time constraints, WBUR said it is actually tricky since legislation session ends on January 5, 2021.
"Baker will have 10 days to review any bill under state law, meaning he could effectively kill anything sent to him too close to the end of session by sitting on it," WBUR highlighted.
