Massachusetts is on the way to giving doctors the final say on whether an abortion should be allowed late in pregnancy, a move expected to affect few cases but that supporters say is needed because hospitals are now turning away women they should be serving.
The state Senate adopted the measure Friday, sending it to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who has signed other laws strengthening abortion rights.
Under current Massachusetts law, abortion is legal for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. It is allowed after that only if a physician using best medical judgment says it is necessary to preserve the life, physical or mental health of the woman, because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis or because the fetus wouldn't likely survive outside the uterus.
State Rep. Christine Barber said that under that framework, hospitals turned away some women for abortions late in pregnancy, even in a case where a fetus had a stroke and was determined to be unlikely to survive.
The new law would take out the list of specific reasons and say simply that it would be allowed "based on the professional judgment of the physician."

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