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THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 25, 2025 Page 15 THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of July 14-18. REPRODUCTIVE AND TRANSGENDER CARE PROTECTIONS – THE SHIELD ACT (H 4271) House 130-29, approved legislation, dubbed by sponsors as the Shield Act, that supporters say would strengthen health care protections in the Bay State. The bill is designed to fortify protections for people seeking and providing reproductive and transgender care. The Senate has already approved a diff erent version of the proposal and a House-Senate conference committee will eventually hammer out a compromise version of the measure. The measure would prohibit state agencies, employees and law enforcement from cooperating with investigations by other states or the federal government, into reproductive or gender affi rming health care that is legally protected in Massachusetts. It also would restrict businesses that manage electronic health records from sharing patient data connected to these services. Other provisions empower the Department of Public Health to remove drugs prescribed in connection with reproductive or gender affi rming health care from the prescription monitoring program; prohibit the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis and the Health Connector from providing information to other entities, states or the federal government regarding legally protected health care activities in Massachusetts; forbid entities working with these agencies from using data collected to target patients or providers; protect attorneys licensed in Massachusetts from removal or discipline for advising or representing clients on the topics of reproductive or transgender health care services; and forbid insurance companies from discriminating against or penalizing nonprofi ts who off er reproductive and gender affirming health care services. “As the Trump Administration and Republicans across the country continue to target individuals for exercising their right to make their own health care decisions in consultation with their doctor, this legislation is representative of the House’s commitment to preserving that fundamental right,” said House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). “The Shield Act builds on the commonwealth’s proud history of preserving and expanding access to reproductive and gender-affi rming care by establishing new safeguards around patient data and by protecting health care professionals who provide that vital care.” “When patients and doctors engage in legal healthcare activities here in Massachusetts, they will have the peace of mind that their personal information will remain private and that their constitutional rights remain protected rights,” said Rep. Michael Day (D-Stoneham), House Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary. “Massachusetts will always protect and preserve the constitutional and civil rights of our people to make their own healthcare decisions, especially in the face of political crusades of the federal government and the misguided eff orts of other states seeking to interfere with those decisions made here.” “Those who voted in favor of [the bill] have not only encouraged Massachusetts physicians to break abortion laws in other states but have approved protecting their illegal activities as well,” said Myrna Maloney Flynn President of Mass Citizens for Life which opposed the measure. “Going forward, Massachusetts abortionists who prescribe mifepristone to women in areas where it is outlawed have more ways to hide their crimes and conceal their identities. The bill goes far beyond protecting unethical doctors though. It all but assures the inability to hold accountable those physicians whose actions result in serious injuries to women who consume the abortion pill without any medical oversight. We look forward to the likely federal response in the coming weeks.” “No Massachusetts resident, through the administration of so-called telehealth abortions or through the shipment of mifepristone to other states, has the right to impede the laws of those states,” said bill opponent Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle. “By prohibiting Massachusetts law enforcement from cooperating with federal and out of state authorities, and by authorizing Massachusetts residents and offi cials to ignore subpoenas, refuse to execute warrants and reject records requests, this legislation essentially immunizes Bay State residents from the consequences of breaking the laws of other states. Doyle continued, “It represents a repudiation of both the letter and the spirit of the ‘full faith and credit’ clause of the U.S. Constitution. This divisive and supremacist measure, aimed at nullifying laws which Bay State legislators fi nd objectionable, creates a dangerous precedent and establishes a slippery slope. Do other states then retaliate by refusing to extradite criminals to Massachusetts? Do states, with diff ering positions on abortion and gender dysphoria end up imposing sanctions and boycotts upon one another?” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote Is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes EXPAND PRIVACYPROTECTION (H 4271) House 30-129, rejected an amendment that would expand current law which provides privacy protection for people receiving reproductive health care services or gender-affi rming health care. The amendment would expand current law by also protecting the privacy of the “refusal by any person to obtain reproductive health care services, gender-affi rming health care services or any other preventative medical care on behalf of themselves or their minor children.” “I supported [the amendment] because the original bill … while vital for safeguarding sensitive medical information, primarily focused its privacy protections on the provision of reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare services,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Mike Soter (R-Bellingham). “To truly ensure equitable and comprehensive medical privacy for all residents in the commonwealth, this amendment extends those same robust protections to individuals who make deeply personal decisions to refuse reproductive health care services, gender-affi rming health care services or any other preventative medical care for themselves or their minor children. This amendment is not about allowing people to refuse this care for their children, it is about addressing the inconsistency where stronger privacy safeguards were offered for some medical information but not for others, solely based on the type of care involved.” “I opposed this amendment because it undercuts the very protections the bill seeks to amplify and is contrary to our current consent laws for abortions for minors,” said Rep. Adrianne Ramos (D-North Andover). “This amendment creates a proactive right of a parent to refuse a broad spectrum of care for their minor children, without exceptions, which means through age 18. It carves out no language to allow courts to weigh in if the parents are not married or are separated. In essence, it gives one parent the ability to interrupt or prevent even common reproductive care such as birth control and gender-affi rming care such as hormones. It was an underhanded attempt by Republicans to take control over the bodily decisions of others and could not be condoned as the privacy protecting amendment it was portrayed to be.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle No DEBT COLLECTION (S 2537) Senate 39-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that supporters said would protect consumers and keep people from being pushed into fi nancial ruin if they are sued for fi - nancial debt. They said the new law would make debt collection practices fairer, protect wages and make clear that no person can be imprisoned for unpaid consumer debt. Provisions include expanding the amount of an individual’s paycheck that is shielded from wage garnishment; establishing a 5-year statute of limitations on debt collection; and reducing from 12 percent to 3 percent the maximum interest rate that can be imposed on judgments on consumer debt. “Those caught in the grip of a debt cycle know all too well the often-predatory practices used by debt collectors, and the cripBEACON | SEE PAGE 16

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