HOW I VOTED: Protecting Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care

Protecting Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care in Massachusetts

Bill: H.4271, An Act Strengthening Health Care Protections in the Commonwealth

Date of Vote: July 16, 2025

What Problem Was This Bill Trying to Solve?

Several states have enacted laws restricting access to reproductive health care and gender-affirming care while attempting to investigate, penalize, or prosecute individuals who seek those services in states where they remain legal. These actions have raised concerns about patient privacy, access to care, and legal protections for health care providers.

Massachusetts previously enacted protections for reproductive and gender-affirming health care, but ongoing changes in federal policy and actions by other states prompted lawmakers to consider additional safeguards. Supporters argued that patients and providers should be protected from outside efforts to interfere with health care services that are lawful in Massachusetts.

This legislation strengthens legal protections for patients, health care providers, attorneys, and organizations involved in providing or supporting reproductive and gender-affirming health care services within the Commonwealth.

What Does the Bill Do?

• Prohibits Massachusetts state agencies, employees, and law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state or federal investigations involving reproductive or gender-affirming health care that is legally provided in Massachusetts.

• Restricts businesses that manage electronic health records from sharing patient information related to legally protected reproductive and gender-affirming health care services.

• Exempts personally identifying information of patients and providers involved in reproductive and gender-affirming health care from public records disclosure requirements.

• Requires hospitals to provide stabilizing health care services to patients experiencing emergency medical conditions.

• Authorizes the Department of Public Health to remove certain reproductive and gender-affirming health care medications from the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP).

• Prohibits the sharing of Prescription Monitoring Program information with other states when related to legally protected health care activities in Massachusetts.

• Restricts the sharing of health care information by state agencies, including the Center for Health Information and Analysis and the Health Connector, when related to legally protected health care services.

• Protects Massachusetts attorneys from professional discipline for advising or representing clients regarding reproductive or gender-affirming health care.

• Prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against or penalizing nonprofit organizations that provide reproductive or gender-affirming health care services.

• Prevents Massachusetts courts from using another state's restrictions on gender-affirming care as a basis for changing child custody or visitation decisions.

• Protects licensed health care professionals from disciplinary actions related to providing health care services that are lawful in Massachusetts.

How I Voted

I voted YES.

Why I Voted This Way

Health care decisions are deeply personal and should be made by individuals in consultation with qualified medical professionals. Massachusetts has a long history of protecting patient privacy, supporting access to lawful medical care, and ensuring that providers can practice without fear of interference from outside jurisdictions.

This legislation strengthens existing safeguards by protecting confidential health information, clarifying legal protections for providers and patients, and ensuring that Massachusetts laws govern health care services delivered within the Commonwealth.

Government has a responsibility to protect individual rights while providing clear legal frameworks that allow professionals to serve the public without unnecessary uncertainty.

I supported this legislation because it protects patient privacy, preserves access to legally authorized health care, provides clarity for health care professionals, and reinforces Massachusetts’ commitment to allowing individuals and families to make their own health care decisions under the laws of the Commonwealth.