HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo said the House plans to overturn Gov. Charlie Baker’s amendment to an abortion provision in the state budget on Wednesday, and Senate President Karen Spilka said the Senate will act promptly once the House is finished.
The announcements by the two leaders on Tuesday set the stage for a high-stakes battle between the governor and the Legislature over the issue of abortion. Legislative leaders are characterizing the language they passed as necessary at a time when the US Supreme Court appears to be controlled by opponents of abortion, while Baker suggest his amended version goes far enough.
“The proposal we made, if enacted, would give Massachusetts some of the broadest and most significant reproductive health rights in the United States,” the governor said at a State House press conference.
The House and Senate need a majority vote in each branch to send the original legislative version of the abortion provisions back to the governor. If Baker then vetoes the original legislative version, both branches would need a two-thirds vote to override the governor’s veto.
Baker has not said he would veto the Legislature’s abortion language, but he has strongly indicated he would. In a letter to lawmakers, Baker said he could support provisions allowing abortions after 24 weeks in cases of a “lethal fetal anomaly.” But Baker drew the line there. “I cannot support the other ways that this section expands the availability of late-term abortions and permits minors age 16 and 17 to get an abortion without the consent of a parent or guardian,” he said.

