Maura has deep roots in Massachusetts. Her parents both grew up in Newburyport. Her maternal grandparents met in Gloucester, where her grandfather worked on the fishing docks and her grandmother, whose ancestors settled on the Parker River in Newbury in 1636, went to nursing school. Her paternal grandparents came from Ireland and worked as a domestic worker and a janitor.
Maura was born at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1971 while her father served as a captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, and later as a civil engineer in the Environmental Protection Agency. Her maternal grandmother was determined that her grandchild be born on Massachusetts soil. She traveled through a snowstorm down Route 1, flew to Maryland, snuck into the delivery room wearing her nursing outfit, and placed a bag of soil from a family woodlot in Byfield below the delivery bed so that Maura could be “born” over Massachusetts. What mothers and grandmothers will do!
With our reproductive rights under attack like never before, Maura will ensure patients and providers are protected here in Massachusetts.
Maura knows that reproductive freedom is under threat like never before. It’s a direct attack on women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. With Roe v. Wade overturned, our next governor needs to continue to protect access to safe and legal abortion in Massachusetts, break down systemic barriers to these services, and expand access to comprehensive reproductive care for all. Maura will work closely with legislative leaders, public health experts, and advocates like the Beyond ROE Coalition to ensure Massachusetts remains a beacon of hope for all who are seeking care.
Maura has long been a strong advocate for access to reproductive care. Before she was AG, she defended Massachusetts’ Buffer Zone Law to protect patients from harassment at health centers, investigated crisis pregnancy centers for deceptive practices, led efforts to protect the public safety of abortion providers, and worked on litigations in various federal courts to defend access to abortion.
As AG, Maura has challenged unconstitutional abortion restrictions across the country and took on the Trump administration for its attacks on birth control access, Title X, and abortion via telehealth. She secured a settlement with an advertising company to stop them from targeting advertisements around health centers that provide abortion care. She was also an early and strong supporter of the ACCESS Law, which expanded access to contraception, and the ROE Act, which removed several anti-abortion restrictions from Massachusetts law in 2020. And while she was Co-Chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, it became the first and only Democratic campaign committee to require candidates to publicly state their support for abortion rights in order to receive endorsements.
While there is not currently a federal abortion ban and abortion remains legal in Massachusetts, in her role as Attorney General, Maura has pledged that she will never enforce such a ban.
As Governor, Maura will stand for reproductive freedom by: