Massachusetts Liberalized Its Abortion Laws


Massachusetts, a majority Catholic state, has passed a law increasing access to abortion. Among other improvements, it has increased the kind of medical certifications that can perform abortions and allowed judges to approve abortions for young women when parents refuse.

Massachusetts originally was settled by Protestants. Then is the mid 1600's Irish immigrants came to dominate the states politics. Those immigrants were, of course, mostly Catholics. In recent decades the Catholic Church has been involved in heavy controversies and, like the homeland of Ireland, has slipped away from the faith. 

Among the controversial figures was Bishop Bernard Law. He was accused of moving pedophile priests from one diocese to another instead of turning evidence over to law enforcement. In the middle of the controversy he moved to the Vatican. Wikipedia and the press used the term "fled" to describe Law's abrupt move to Rome. Conventional wisdom is he did this to avoid charges from state prosecutors. After retirement from his job in the Vatican he stayed there instead of returning to the U.S. He died a few years ago.

That politics in both Ireland and "Irish" Boston have changed so much that liberal abortion policies are now politically successful illustrates the declining influence of the Catholic church on politics. As an outsider to all of this it looks like Catholic Clergy be more influential if it had not pushed itself into politics and demanded that laws conform to their religious beliefs.

President Elect Biden and former President JFK share a position on abortion the church that all who oppose abortion should take as their own. It is that abortion is a religious issue and a personal matter. Those with this religious belief should not impose it on those with different religious beliefs. 

Trying to shoe horn in abortion as crime when women are granted equal rights to men is simply impossible. Originally the scheme was to make doctors the villain and women merely pawns and hapless victims of abortion providers. That old fashion attitude is laughable now. Women make their own abortion decisions.   

Women in Massachusetts will not stand for limits to abortion access. Ultimately, neither will women anywhere.

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