Catholic group urges bishops to excommunicate Massachusetts governor over new abortion law
CatholicVote is urging Massachusetts bishops to consider automatic excommunication of Governor Maura Healey after she signed a law permitting abortions up to birth.
Governor Maura Healey signed legislation that eliminates Massachusetts’ 24-week abortion restriction, prompting CatholicVote to press the state’s bishops to determine whether the Catholic governor has incurred automatic excommunication under canon law. Kelsey Reinhardt, CatholicVote’s president and CEO, argued that Healey should be labeled an “accomplice” in abortion and face formal Church discipline, and she sent a letter to the bishops outlining that request.
The law, effective Nov. 8, makes Massachusetts the tenth state to permit abortions up to birth based on a physician’s judgment. Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester denounced the measure, describing the potential destruction of a newborn in vivid terms and questioning the female crowd celebrating the signing. Utah Senator Mike Lee reposted Barron’s comments, highlighting the controversy. The episode revives a decades-old dispute over whether Catholic bishops should move beyond public criticism to impose sanctions such as denying Holy Communion, as they have done with other pro-abortion politicians.
Why it matters
It spotlights the clash between state abortion policy and Catholic doctrine, raising questions about religious authority over elected officials.
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