An emotionally charged debate over abortion overtook the Massachusetts Statehouse on Monday.
Abortion rights advocates and opponents gathered while lawmakers battled over a bill that would allow for abortions later in pregnancy.
The bill, dubbed the ROE Act, would allow for abortions after 24 weeks in cases of diagnosed lethal fetal anomalies, and would also get rid of parental consent requirements for teenagers seeking access to an abortion.
"Abortion is health care and health care is a human right," said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, at a pre-hearing press conference. "Women will not be equal members of society until we have full access to reproductive health care and full autonomy over our bodies."
Critics warned the bill (H 3320) would throw the doors wide open for abortions to be performed for any reason, and remove patient protections, such as one that would no longer require an abortion after 24 weeks to take place in a hospital.
"We are pro-life from the womb to the tomb," said Eugene Rivers, a Boston activist and Pentecostal minister, who helped rally abortion rights opponents outside the State House in the morning.
The Joint Committee on the Judiciary was holding a hearing Monday where testimony on the bill was scheduled to begin later in the afternoon.
Advocates on both sides of the debate wore pink in support or red in opposition as they flooded the Gardner Auditorium where the bill was scheduled to be heard.
The fight over abortion rights is taking place a time when abortion rights opponents have scored wins in more conservative-leaning states to curtail access. Abortion rights supporters believe the constitutional right to an abortion could be in jeopardy due to changes in the makeup of the Supreme Court, and want to make sure that Massachusetts protects it as a state right.
This report was originally published by State House News Service.