Alliance aims to correct injustice against the preborn

Massachusetts pro-lifers are trying again to make sure state residents don't pay for abortions through tax revenue.

Once upon a time, Massachusetts did not use state revenue to terminate unborn children. But that was before the courts got involved. In 1981, the Supreme Judicial Court, the state's highest court, ordered that the state had to fund abortions through Medicaid.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) has launched a third petition drive.

"What we're trying to do is amend the state constitution to correct that injustice and make sure that the people of the Commonwealth are not forced into being complicit with abortion by funding it with tax dollars," MFI President Andrew Beckwith tells OneNewsNow.

He recognizes the challenge the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion has ahead of it.

"This time around, they're going to need to gather over 80,000 certified signatures to get it on the ballot, so that's a big lift," Beckwith relays. "They'll have 90 days to do it this fall, and I'm hopeful they'll be successful."

If they are, supporters will have to obtain at least 25 percent of the votes from both houses of the legislature in two consecutive state constitutional conventions before voters will have a chance to decide the issue. The earliest that would likely happen is the year 2022.