Gov. Healey calls same-sex marriage and abortion access "non-negotiable" in Massachusetts
Ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and three years after it overturned Roe v. Wade, Gov. Maura Healey said both topics are "non-negotiable" in Massachusetts and vowed to protect them.
On the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationally, one of the nation's most prominent gay politicians, Healey, was asked if she thought that right was secure in the face of a movement among some Republican lawmakers at the state level to ask the court to reverse its position, a possibility mentioned by conservative Justices Thomas and Alito.
"Non-issue here in Massachusetts"
"It's a non-issue here in Massachusetts," she said. "Marriage is marriage, whether you're gay or not, and that's the law here. It's going to continue to be that way."
Healey said the same about abortion rights in Massachusetts.
"This is the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and I'll also just say that abortion rights, abortion access, access to reproductive health care, is non-negotiable. In Massachusetts, we're going to continue to protect that right, continue to protect patients, providers and others who need that care," Healey said.
Massachusetts energy costs
In the meantime, Healey says she's intently focused on curbing the high cost of living in Massachusetts, most recently with legislation aimed at bringing down energy costs.
"We need to get as much energy into the region as possible. I've been saying this for years, and I don't really care what form of energy that is, I just want more supply so that we can drive costs down," she says.
Does that mean Healey is dropping her past opposition to new gas pipelines? "We already have gas coming in, and I support that. It's very important that we continue to build out solar, that we bring wind in. We need to do everything. There is a reason that the states, you know, the states in this country that are have the fastest growth in wind and solar, Texas, Louisiana, you know, so called red states, because this is where we need to go. Everybody needs energy. We're consuming so much energy now with our devices, with AI coming.... It's why I convened all the New England governors and the state of New York, along with the Canadian premiers recently, to have a discussion about how we can bring more energy into the region from Canada."
Antisemitism in Massachusetts
Healey also claimed she had "immediately" pressured officials at the Massachusetts Teachers Association to remove antisemitic material from a teacher "resource" section of their website when it became public a few months ago.
"I had direct conversations with union officials asking them to remove that from the website. I've also said, because we've seen a rise in antisemitism around this country, and even incidents here in Massachusetts, there is no place for anti-Semitism. I don't tolerate it, and we all need to work together to speak out to denounce that kind of bigotry and hatred and racism and xenophobia in all forms."
Healey also discussed tax policy, vowing to revisit raising the amount of wealth exempted from the estate tax and keep an eye on the impact of the income surtax on business.
You can watch part one of our two-part interview with the governor here on-demand; join us next Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. when Healey directly rebuts the criticisms of her potential Republican challengers in the 2026 election, on the Sunday edition of "Keller At Large."
