AMHERST — Citing her self-induced abortion before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States, District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis is urging that a town bylaw be put in place as soon as possible to provide greater protections to residents and visitors seeking reproductive or gender-affirming health care in Amherst.

“I’m not different from a lot of people who will have to resort to illegal abortions, illegal health care, transpeople, people born into the wrong body, who feel they need real change, risking their lives to become the person they want to become,” DeAngelis said at Monday’s Town Council meeting as councilors discussed the “Bylaw Concerning Safe Access to Legally Protected Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Healthcare.”

“This is needed if it saves one person in Amherst, if it protects one person,” DeAngelis said.

The measure was unanimously referred to the Governance, Organization and Legislation Committee for substantive review, with the bylaw expected to return for a possible vote in July.

The bylaw was drafted by District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier and At-Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke.

Being situated in a state whose constitution and other laws protect access to abortion and gender-affirming care, the councilors said they are seeking to codify these in the town bylaws as well, so that information that might be used to seek criminal or civil lawsuits against individuals from other states can’t be divulged.

Devlin Gauthier describes the bylaw as preventive in nature and said its origin was the recent Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Those who come to Amherst need to know they are protected, she said.

“We need to make sure that if they are pursuing that care here they are able to do it without fear of their information being shared with people from their home states who might be seeking it,” Devlin Gauthier said.

The stated purpose is “to ensure the town of Amherst protects and affirms all individuals’ access to legally protected health care services.”

The councilors took the language of the bylaw from ones already written in Easthampton and Salem. The bylaw follows resolutions adopted by the Town Council in 2019 and 2022 in support of reproductive and gender-affirming health care. Devlin Gauthier said she prefers to reinforce state law with local action through a bylaw, rather than a proclamation or a resolution.

In a memo, Hanneke and Devlin Gauthier wrote, “As we have seen since then, some states have responded to this decision by not only criminalizing and prohibiting the provision of some gender-affirming and reproductive services, but also by criminalizing (or allowing others to sue) over the seeking of such services in other states by their own residents.”

Hanneke said the bylaw would protect both residents and those who visit Amherst for care, and would, for instance, prohibit the release of videos from a medical office.

“What we’re trying to do is ensure our town doesn’t help those lawsuits proceed by providing information to anyone who might have followed the lawsuit,” Hanneke said.

At-Large Councilor Andy Steinberg said he worries about bogging down committee time with a bylaw that covers a situation unlikely to occur. “I’m not entirely sure why the bylaw is necessary,” Steinberg said.

“If we only legislate reactively, we’re doing a disservice to our residents,” Devlin Gauthier said, adding that there are states looking for loopholes and opportunities to pursue people legally, and Amherst need to be “matching them and outpacing them in protecting the rights of our residents.”

Council President Lynn Griesemer said the bylaw is reminiscent of actions taken in town to protect undocumented immigrants, such as through the sanctuary that was offered to Lucio Perez at the First Congregational Church.

District 3 Dorothy Pam said she sees Massachusetts’ role as similar to when the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was enacted, requiring slaves who fled to free states, if caught, to be returned to their owners. Pam said Massachusetts was known to fight back against this federal law.

“The language of these news laws are coming from the same place,” Pam said. “It is not rational. They both relate to human bondage.”

Pam added that she anticipates states such as Texas, Kentucky or Utah may try to fight against Massachusetts’ laws.

“This is where the battle is now, and I think some of it will come to Amherst,” Pam said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>