GLAD Law Hails Strong Protections for Transgender and Reproductive Health Care Passed by MA House 

Yesterday, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill to strengthen state protections for access to reproductive and transgender health care. The bill passed the Senate on June 26.  

The bill, which builds on the 2022 Healthcare Shield Act enacted in 2022, safeguards access to legally protected health care by prohibiting state agencies and law enforcement from cooperating with other states or federal investigations into reproductive and transgender care provided in Massachusetts, limiting the sharing of patient data and third-party access to medical records, and prohibiting unnecessary surveillance of prescription medications. The bill also increases protections for those who provide or assist in the provision of legally protected health care through enhanced license protections and protections against discrimination by insurance companies, and provides guidance to courts on how to address out of state laws restricting parents’ ability to seek transgender health care for their children.  

“This bill provides important protections at a time when access to reproductive care and health care for transgender people are under increasing threat,” said Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. “We’re grateful for the collaborative work between state legislators, the Attorney General, and partners who worked quickly to build on the 2022 Shield Act to increase protections for patients and providers and ensure that health care policy in Massachusetts is driven by science and by people’s need for care, not politics. We look forward to continuing to support this legislative effort and hope the bill will soon become law.”