Reproductive rights

A veteran from Massachusetts says she was denied fertility treatment because she is married to a woman, filing a discrimination suit against the Department of Veteran Affairs.

An Air Force veteran of nearly 20 years has filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs alleging she was denied reproductive services because she is married to a woman. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in a Massachusetts federal court, alleges that plaintiff Ashley Sheffield was denied a referral to receive in vitro fertilization, or IVF,…

A year after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, a look at the state of abortion rights in Massachusetts and around the country. Plus, former acting Gov. Jane Swift on what’s changed — and what hasn’t — with women in government.

After giving birth to her baby, Annika Bockius-Suwyn and her wife spent upwards of $2,000 to adopt her. It’s one of countless complicated legal hoops that LGBTQ families jump through in order to solidify their parental rights in Massachusetts and across the country. The couple started their family through Reciprocal IVF (in vitro fertilization), where one partner provides the egg,…

Same-sex parents in Massachusetts are living in fear of having their legal rights to their own children challenged due to antiquated language in the law, but there’s a big push to change that.

Pharmacies in Massachusetts are required to stock all family planning medications, the Healey administration said Wednesday in guidance clarifying state regulations. The move comes after 20 attorneys general nationwide called on pharmacies in their states to stop providing the FDA-approved abortion medication mifepristone. Walgreens said this month it won’t sell the pills by mail in those states. The guidance issued…

Vermont was one of three states on election night that enshrined access to abortions in their state constitutions.  According to unofficial results posted online from the office of Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, more than 72% of Vermonters said the state constitution should be updated to read it is key to people’s dignity that they be able to make...

After voters headed to the polls in Vermont, Rep. Peter Welch will succeed fellow Democrat Patrick Leahy in the Senate, NBC News projects, while Republican Gov. Phil Scott has been reelected. Leahy’s 48-year tenure made him the longest-serving member in the current U.S. Senate. Welch easily defeated little-known Republican challenger Gerald Malloy, a retired U.S. Army officer endorsed by...

With early voting well underway in Vermont, one of the ballot questions voters are deciding on is whether the Vermont Constitution should be amended to reflect the issue of personal reproductive liberty. The question has brought both ardent support and vigorous opposition into public debate. Article 22 would declare it is central to human liberty and dignity for someone to…

On Election Day this November, a question related to accessing abortion and other reproductive health care decisions will be on ballots across Vermont.  Under Article 22, voters will be asked whether the Vermont Constitution should be amended to include reproductive liberty. That would mean future state lawmakers couldn’t pass laws that restrict reproductive rights, advocates have said. The public...

Gov. Charlie Baker late Monday returned a local public health overhaul bill to lawmakers with substantial changes and shot down another bill dealing with student diabetes treatment in schools. Baker sent back the bill calling for foundational local and regional public health standards and regular state funding to health boards (H 5104). The bill’s supporters say it aims to ensure…

The governor will join other lawmakers Tuesday for the ceremonial signing of a bill that protect reproductive healthcare

The vice president spoke with lawmakers in Boston about abortion rights after the fall of Roe V. Wade.

Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted Massachusetts as a leader in the national fight to protect abortion rights during a round table discussion in Boston Thursday as part of a visit to the Bay State. During the Vice President’s meeting, Harris and several other leaders including Gov. Charlie Bake, U.S. Department of Defense Undersecretary Gil Cisneros and Representative Ayanna Pressley,...

The VP will make stops in Boston and Martha’s Vineyard

Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Thursday with Massachusetts state legislators and local leaders in Boston to discuss reproductive rights and Democrats’ efforts to protect them in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. The White House announced late Wednesday afternoon that Harris will travel to Boston on Thursday for the meeting, but did...

Massachusetts has a new law on the books protecting providers of reproductive health, including abortions, and gender-affirming care from out-of-state legal action in a post-Roe v. Wade world after Republican Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday signed the bill Democrats sent him. Baker’s office announced shortly after 10:45 a.m. that he gave his approval to legislation that creates new legal...

Indiana OBGYN Dr. Caitlin Bernard has received calls of support, and others that were threatening, after she provided abortion care to a 10-year-old Ohio girl who survived a sexual assault. In an interview with NPR, Bernard said she will continue providing care to the fullest extent the law will allow. NPR reporter Sarah McCammon joins LX News to discuss her...

The bill reinforces Massachusetts law that protects abortion rights in the state.

Massachusetts lawmakers approved a sweeping abortion bill Tuesday aimed in part at building a firewall to protect access to the procedure after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month. The bill would protect abortion providers and people seeking abortions from actions taken by other states, including blocking the governor from extraditing anyone charged in another state...