Massachusetts Sex Laws
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws
Last update: 9/7/2014
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General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 14 Adultery
A married person who has sexual intercourse with a person not his spouse or an unmarried person who has sexual intercourse with a married person shall be guilty of adultery and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in jail for not more than two years or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 18 Fornication
Whoever commits fornication shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three months or by a fine of not more than thirty dollars.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 2 Enticing away person for prostitution or sexual intercourse
Whoever fraudulently and deceitfully entices or takes away a person from the house of his parent or guardian or elsewhere, for the purpose of prostitution or for the purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse, and whoever aids and assists in such abduction for such purpose, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment in jail.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 35 Unnatural and lascivious acts
Whoever commits any unnatural and lascivious act with another person shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail or the house of correction for not more than two and one half years.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 34 Crime against nature
Whoever commits the abominable and detestable crime against nature, either with mankind or with a beast, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty years.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 20 Advertising relative to miscarriage or prevention of pregnancy
Except as provided in section twenty-one A, whoever knowingly advertises, prints, publishes, distributes or circulates, or knowingly causes to be advertised, printed, published, distributed or circulated, any pamphlet, printed paper, book, newspaper, notice, advertisement or reference containing words or language giving or conveying any notice, hint or reference to any person, or to the name of any person, real or fictitious, from whom, or to any place, house, shop or office where any poison, drug, mixture, preparation, medicine or noxious thing, or any instrument or means whatever, or any advice, direction, information or knowledge may be obtained for the purpose of causing or procuring the miscarriage of a woman pregnant with child or of preventing, or which is represented as intended to prevent, pregnancy shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in jail for not more than two and one half years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 21 Instruments or other articles for self-abuse, prevention of conception or abortion, in general
Except as provided in section twenty-one A, whoever sells, lends, gives away, exhibits, or offers to sell, lend or give away an instrument or other article intended to be used for self-abuse, or any drug, medicine, instrument or article whatever for the prevention of conception or for causing unlawful abortion, or advertises the same, or writes, prints, or causes to be written or printed a card, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement or notice of any kind stating when, where, how, of whom or by what means such article can be purchased or obtained, or manufactures or makes any such article shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail or the house of correction for not more than two and one half years or by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 21A Furnishing drugs, articles or information for prevention of pregnancy or conception
A registered physician may administer to or prescribe for any married person drugs or articles intended for the prevention of pregnancy or conception. A registered pharmacist actually engaged in the business of pharmacy may furnish such drugs or articles to any married person presenting a prescription from a registered physician.
A public health agency, a registered nurse, or a maternity health clinic operated by or in an accredited hospital may furnish information to any married person as to where professional advice regarding such drugs or articles may be lawfully obtained.
This section shall not be construed as affecting the provisions of sections twenty and twenty-one relative to prohibition of advertising of drugs or articles intended for the prevention of pregnancy or conception; nor shall this section be construed so as to permit the sale or dispensing of such drugs or articles by means of any vending machine or similar device.
General Laws
Part IV Crimes, Punishments and Proceedings in Criminal Cases
Title I Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 272 Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order
Section 21B Privately controlled hospital or health facility; abortion or sterilization procedures; contraceptive devices and family planning services
No privately controlled hospital or other health facility shall be required to admit any patient for the purpose of performing an abortion, performing any sterilization procedure, or receiving contraceptive devices or information.
No privately controlled hospital or other privately controlled health facility shall be required to permit any patient to have an abortion, or any sterilization procedure performed in said hospital or other health facility, or to furnish contraceptive devices or information to such patient, nor shall such a hospital or other health facility be required to furnish any family planning services within or through said hospital or other health facility or to make referrals to any other hospital or health facility for such services when said services or referrals are contrary to the religious or moral principles of said hospital or said health facility as expressed in its charter, by-laws or code of ethics, or vote of its governing body.
Any such hospital or other health facility exercising the rights granted in this section shall not on account of the exercise thereof, be disciplined or discriminated against in any manner or suffer any adverse determination by any person, firm, corporation, or other entity, including but in no way limited to any political subdivision, board, commission, department, authority, or agency of the commonwealth.
Note: We have yet to find definitions for terms like, “unnatural act” or “self abuse.” While we are pretty sure what they mean, it seems that legal definitions are required because for some, an unnatural act is sex in any but the missionary position while others find voting Republican to be an unnatural act.
In other strange news –
Common law marriage was supposedly eliminated in 1646. Yet the following law is on the books:
General Laws,
Part II REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS
Title III DOMESTIC RELATIONS
Ch. 207 MARRIAGE
Sec 47
Marriage may be proved by evidence of an admission thereof by an adverse party, by evidence of general repute or of cohabitation of the parties as married persons, or of any other fact from which it may be inferred.
Massachusetts statutes contain no explicit definition of marriage. The marriage licensing statute at chapter 207 refers to the parties to a marriage or persons who marry without specifying sex.[55]
On November 18, 2003, the state's highest court held in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the statute's references to marriage must be understood in their "common-law and quotidian meaning" as the union of a man and a woman. It held that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples "violates the basic premises of individual liberty and equality under law protected by the Massachusetts Constitution." It provided an amended definition of marriage: "We construe civil marriage to mean the voluntary union of two persons as spouses, to the exclusion of all others." The Court stayed its decision for 180 days to allow the state legislature to "take such action as it may deem appropriate in light of this opinion." The legislature took no action, same-sex marriage became legal on May 17, 2004, and on that day same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses, acquired them, and solemnized marriages.[56]
Under a 1913 statute, marriages of non-residents were invalid if the marriage was clearly invalid in their state of residence. Since the repeal of that statute took effect on July 31, 2008, Massachusetts has placed no restrictions on the marriage of non-residents.[57]
Court rulings in July and September 2012 established that Massachusetts recognizes civil unions and domestic partnerships established in other jurisdictions as marriages.