The preamble, filed with Secretary of State William Galvin's office, prevents any suspension attempts over the next two years, a spokesperson for the governor's office confirmed. The law had been scheduled to take effect Sunday, Nov. 9, according to the House clerk's office.

In the preamble, Healey wrote that "any further delay in implementing the Act would prolong uncertainty for patients, families, physicians and health care institutions, and risk further harm to the health and safety of women in Massachusetts."

The law, based on bills that moved quickly through the Legislature before formal sessions ended in July, removes four criteria from the statute that had allowed abortions at or beyond 24 weeks in life-threatening situations for the patient or fetus. It instead defers to providers' medical judgment on whether to perform an abortion.

Galvin's office is processing petitions from a group seeking to put a repeal referendum before voters in 2028. Sam Miele, chair of the Compassionate Care Coalition, which is led by Massachusetts Citizens for Life and Massachusetts Family Action, said the group submitted 113,477 signatures certified by local clerks on Friday. That exceeds the 37,289 needed to make the 2028 ballot and the 49,719 required to suspend the law in the interim.

In a Substack post Friday afternoon explaining her decision, Healey said at least nine patients have been denied abortion care in Massachusetts since the law was signed in August, and that "two more years of women being denied care" is "not a reality I can accept."

"The repeal campaign can continue its work, and Massachusetts voters will have their say," she wrote. "If they choose to repeal the law, we will respect their decision. But families should not have to go without the care they need while that process plays out."

Kathleen Melendy, Reproductive Equity Now's Massachusetts state director, praised the move. "Since the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act was signed into law in August, at least nine Massachusetts patients facing devastating pregnancy complications have been denied compassionate abortion care here in the Commonwealth while waiting for the law to take effect," she said. "Today, Governor Healey took decisive action to address this public health emergency, removing unnecessary delays and ensuring patients can access the care they need when they need it."

Miele condemned the governor's action. "The prior abortion law in Massachusetts allowed abortions after 24 weeks if the mother's life was in danger," he said. "The only thing this new law does is allow babies who pose no threat to the life of the mother to be killed at will in the womb at nine months. Governor Healey, you must explain to the voters why that is an emergency."

Dr. Rebecca Brendel, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, applauded the decision. "The MMS remains firmly committed to protecting clinical autonomy and access to comprehensive, equitable reproductive health care," Brendel said in a statement. "Physicians bear the responsibility to make complex, individualized clinical treatment recommendations based on scientific evidence, established standards of care, and circumstances unique to our patients. Decisions regarding abortion care later in pregnancy should be no different."

The fight now shifts to the referendum process, with opponents aiming to give voters the final say in 2028 while the law takes effect in the meantime.