What is it?
As of June 26th 2025, the Massachusetts Senate passed an act strengthening health care protections in the Commonwealth- otherwise known as the Shield Act 2.0- legislation that would fortify protections for those seeking and providing reproductive and transgender care.
Originally passed in 2022, these additional provisions prohibit state agencies and law enforcement from cooperating with other states or federal investigations into legally-protected reproductive or transgender health care provided in Massachusetts. Businesses that manage electronic health information would be subject to similar limitations.
Additionally, the legislation:
- Allows prescriptions to be issued with the name of the healthcare practice rather than the individual practitioner.
- Excluding certain reproductive and gender-affirming medications from the state’s drug monitoring programs.
- Limiting third-party access to related medical records.
- Enhances license protections for anyone providing or assisting in the provision of reproductive or transgender health care
services. - Protects attorneys licensed in Massachusetts from removal or discipline for advising or representing clients on the topics of
reproductive or transgender health care services. - Forbids insurance companies from discriminating against or penalizing providers who offer reproductive and transgender
health services. - Prohibits courts from admitting or considering cases of abuse, neglect, or maltreatment brought against parents because they
support their child in seeking reproductive or transgender care. - Mandates that acute-care hospitals provide emergency services – including abortion care when necessary – to any patient
who is injured or seeking emergency treatment.