Family · Statewide · MA · September 4, 2026
MA Activists File Petition to Repeal New Abortion Law by 2028 Vote
What Alinsky tactic is being used
3 of the thirteen rules are in play here — campaigns rarely run just one.
Rule 3
“Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.”
The whole fight here is procedural, not rhetorical: Article 48's ten-signer origination filing, a 30-day and a 90-day clock, percentage thresholds tied to the last governor's race, and a cap of one quarter of signatures from any single county. In the last Massachusetts veto referendum, on the 2024 firearms law, petitioners cleared the signature bar but never suspended the law because the governor signed an emergency preamble on Oct. 2, 2024, putting it into effect first — a move most volunteers had never heard of. Ground like that beats conviction every time.
Counter-Rule 3 · Preparation and Width
Prepare the unfamiliar ground before you are dragged onto it. "I don't know, I'll find out and come back" beats an improvised answer.
This month, read Article 48's referendum sections and the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Guide to Statewide Ballot Question Petitions before you argue with anyone about the petition. Write down four numbers on one card: the 30-day origination deadline, the 90-day completion deadline, the 1.5% ballot threshold, the 2% suspension threshold. When someone asks whether the law is paused, say 'I don't know yet — I'll call the Elections Division at 617-727-2828 and come back,' and then actually call.
Rule 11
“If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside.”
Both sides are pushing a negative until it flips. The Legislature's own press release announcing passage was headlined as keeping government out of doctor's appointments, which describes removing the post-24-week framework without ever saying so; national coverage of the signing ran the other way, in language a fact-check outlet then took apart. A church member who repeats either slogan in a public meeting will be corrected on the detail and lose the room.
Counter-Rule 11 · Proportional Truth
Refuse to overclaim, even where it would help. One exaggeration hands the other side the only weapon that works permanently.
Refuse the slogan and carry the text. Chapter 188 of the Acts of 2026 struck the four-pronged post-24-week standard in G.L. c. 112, § 12N and substituted an abortion 'based upon the professional judgment of the physician' — say exactly that, with the effective date of Nov. 8, 2026, and nothing beyond it. Print the section and hand it to people rather than characterizing it; let them read the change themselves.
Rule 1
“Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.”
The alert says a petition was filed and the process 'has formally begun,' but names no coalition and no scope — and a filing is ten signatures, not an army. The same perception cuts both ways: readers may assume a 2028 repeal vote is now inevitable, when in fact tens of thousands of valid signatures must be certified by local registrars within 90 days of Aug. 10, 2026.
Counter-Rule 1 · Reality Over Perception
Count the actual numbers. The phantom army depends on nobody checking whether it exists.
Count before you commit or despair. Ask the Elections Division which ten voters originated the petition, whether the Attorney General has issued an opinion that the law may be the subject of a referendum, and how many certified signatures have been filed to date — then write the numbers down with the date you got them. Do not tell your congregation the question is 'on the 2028 ballot' until the Secretary certifies it.
Chapter 3 sets out the rules; Chapter 15 answers each of them in turn. This is that pairing applied to this story.
Know where you stand
The free 4-minute assessment identifies your mountain and your institution’s capture phase — so alerts like this one arrive matched to where you actually stand.
Facing this yourself? Ask. Describe what is happening and get what the book, Scripture, and the law of your state say, with the exact words to use. Your first one is free.