CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt tells Fox News Digital why she believes Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Catholic, should be excommunicated after signing a law expanding access to late-term abortion.
A Catholic organization is pressing Massachusetts bishops to act against Democratic Gov. Maura Healey after she signed a new law that will eliminate the state’s previous restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks, making Massachusetts the 10th state to permit the procedure up to birth.
"To weaponize Catholic virtues, to weaponize Christian virtues in the defense of something so egregiously contrary to the faith is a new moment in the political landscape and in the way in which bishops should deal with politicians," CatholicVote president and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt told Fox News Digital.
CatholicVote is urging Massachusetts bishops to determine whether Healey, who is Catholic, incurred automatic excommunication under canon law and, if so, formally declare it.
In a letter to the bishops, Reinhardt argued that Healey should be considered an "accomplice" in abortion under Catholic canon law and that her actions warrant formal discipline.
The law, signed by Healey in mid-August and set to take effect Nov. 8, will allow abortions beyond the state’s previous restrictions based on a physician’s professional judgment, reigniting a decades-old fight over how Catholic leaders should respond to Democratic politicians whose support for abortion rights conflicts with Church teaching.
LATE-TERM ABORTION TAKES FRONT SEAT AS BLUE STATE RUSHES TO EXPAND ACCESS BEFORE SESSION ENDS
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey turns toward supporters after signing legislation strengthening abortion protections and prioritizing access to care at the Massachusetts State House on Aug. 10, 2026, in Boston. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
While Catholic politicians have repeatedly faced condemnation, warnings and calls for consequences, formal discipline from bishops has been uneven — a divide CatholicVote says Healey's latest move should force Church leaders to confront.
"We’ve seen generations of Catholic politicians now claim this same exception," Reinhardt said, referring to politicians who say they are personally opposed to abortion while supporting abortion rights. "It gave cover for too many years and now that cover is no longer possible."
NEONATOLOGIST SOUNDS ALARM OVER MASSACHUSETTS ABORTION LAW ALLOWING PROCEDURES UP TO BIRTH: 'VERY DISTURBING'
Governor Maura Healey holds a press conference on May 8, 2026 with abortion advocates. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Bishop Robert Barron, who leads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, sharply condemned the new Massachusetts law and the celebration surrounding its signing.
"Please understand what this means. A fully-formed child, moments before exiting the birth canal, can be eviscerated, chopped into pieces, have its head crushed or skin burned off," said the bishop in an X post.
"What I found particularly gross was the reaction of the entirely female crowd around the female governor of Massachusetts as she signed this barbaric provision into law," he said, referencing those surrounding Healey during the signing.
