BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s challenge of Texas’ new restrictions on abortion, which went into effect last week:

“I commend Attorney General Garland for taking swift, decisive action in protecting access to safe, legal abortion in Texas. It is not hyperbolic to say that lives hang in the balance while Texas’ abortion ban remains in effect. We cannot allow vulnerable patients to be turned away from health centers, forced into pregnancy, or denied this life-saving and life-changing care. Abortion is health care, and it is the key to self-determination for millions of Americans. We cannot rest until all people—especially Black, Latina, Indigenous, and low-income women—can access the care they need.”