Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL) is responding to a July 21 Boston Globe article covering H.5595/S.1563, a radical Massachusetts late-term abortion bill currently before the Massachusetts Legislature.

While the article discussed the legislation and featured perspectives from supporters of the bill, readers were not provided with a full representation of the concerns raised by those who oppose it.

Although a dated call to action from Massachusetts Citizens for Life was quoted in the July 21 article, the organization was not contacted for an updated statement on H.5595/S.1563 before publication.

Following publication of the article, on July 22, MCFL President Myrna Maloney Flynn contacted the article's authors, Samantha Gross and Anjali Huynh, encouraging more balanced coverage of legislation with significant consequences for Massachusetts and national abortion policy. As of this publication, MCFL has not received a response and is therefore providing its current position on the legislation.

Flynn issued the following statement regarding bill H.5595/S.1563:

"The good intentions of this bill's sponsors are gravely misplaced. As written, their abortion-up-to-birth bill permits one physician to subjectively decide that any unborn infant can be killed in or outside of a hospital, even babies capable of surviving outside the womb and feeling pain within it. Women experiencing unimaginable, heart wrenching pregnancy complications absolutely deserve all the support they need, but that support is not what this bill provides. Instead, this bill ensures increased abortion industry profits and taxpayer-funded late-term procedures. The legislation promises that an already ominous shadow will grow even darker over the state of Massachusetts."

MCFL believes legislation as significant as H.5595/S.1563 should be reported in a way that fairly represents the views of both supporters and opponents, allowing Massachusetts residents to consider the full range of perspectives before lawmakers take final action.