Dear citizens working to prevent child sexual abuse,

We are closer than we have ever been to ending Massachusetts' outdated statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse claims, but the fight isn't over yet.

The Massachusetts House included Amendment 110 in its version of the primary care and health care affordability bill, H.5630. This amendment eliminates the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors. Speaker Ron Mariano and the House deserve real credit for including it. Now the bill has moved to a House-Senate conference committee, where a small group of legislators will decide whether Amendment 110 survives in the final version that goes to Governor Healey's desk before the session ends.

This is exactly the moment when quiet legislative maneuvering can strip a provision like this out of a bill. We need legislators to hear, loudly and now, that their constituents expect them to keep survivors' access to justice in the final bill.

Here's what Amendment 110 does:

• Removes the deadline for filing a civil claim going forward, so survivors can sue individuals or institutions responsible for their abuse at any point in their lives.

• Opens a two-year window for survivors whose claims have already expired under current law to revive them against both perpetrators and the institutions that enabled or concealed the abuse.

• Extends accountability not just to abusers, but to the institutions that ignored warning signs or covered up abuse.

• Removes the antiquated legal shield of charitable immunity for child sexual abuse claims. This 1840s doctrine continues to protect institutions, conceal dangerous predators and practices that endanger children. Massachusetts is the very worst in a handful of states that have not abolished this outdated doctrine.

Why it matters: Research shows most survivors don't disclose their abuse to anyone until their 50s, often decades after the fact. Massachusetts' current law caps most claims around age 53, shutting the courthouse door on survivors just as many are finally able to come forward. Nineteen states, two territories, and the federal government have already eliminated the civil statute of limitations for some or all childhood sexual abuse claims, and 31 states and three territories have passed similar revival windows. Massachusetts helped expose institutional child sexual abuse to the world; our laws shouldn't lag behind the reforms we inspired.

Take action now: Send an already-drafted email to your State Senator and Representative asking them to urge the Conference Committee to keep Amendment 110, without changes, in the final version of H.5630.

We can protect children NOW, prevent future abuse and help adult survivors heal by holding abusers accountable with no time limits. Let's not let the SOL amendment get quietly dropped in conference.

When you submit the form on the right, the following email will be sent, addressed to your State Senator and Representative, from you as their constituent: 

On behalf of thousands of survivors of child sexual abuse across Massachusetts, I want to call your attention to H5630, the primary care and health care affordability bill now before the Conference Committee. I am writing to ask you to ensure that Amendment 110 in H5630, the language eliminating the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors, is preserved unchanged by House and Senate Conference Committee members in their final report sent to the Governor's desk.

Speaker Mariano and the House demonstrated real leadership by including this language in H.5630. I now urge the Senate to stand with the House and ensure it survives conference, without weakening the SOL amendment.

A few points we hope you'll keep in mind as negotiations continue:

• Most survivors don't disclose their abuse to anyone until their 50s, often not until they finally have the safety, distance, or language to do so. Many survivors never find the strength to disclose. A filing deadline modeled on an ordinary accident claim misunderstands the long-term harm child sexual abuse causes and effectively shields predators and the institutions that protect them.

• Amendment 110 fixes a gap Massachusetts created in 2014. The 2014 reform extended the statute of limitations only for abuse occurring on or after June 26, 2014, and capped most claims around age 53. It left, and continues to leave, many survivors of earlier abuse with no path to justice.

• The Amendment holds institutions accountable, not just individuals. The two-year revival window allows survivors whose claims have already expired to bring civil claims against both perpetrators and the institutions that enabled or concealed the abuse. These are the same institutions that have too often relied on the passage of time rather than on accountability.

• Massachusetts is lagging behind. Nineteen states, two territories, and the federal government have already eliminated the civil statute of limitations for some or all childhood sexual abuse claims; 31 states and three territories have enacted revival windows. Massachusetts exposed institutional child sexual abuse to the nation over two decades ago; it's time our laws matched the reforms we inspired.

• The 1840s antiquated doctrine of charitable immunity continues to protect institutions, conceal dangerous predators and practices that endanger children. Massachusetts’’ immunity cap of $20,000 is the very worst in a handful of states that have not abolished this outdated doctrine.

Survivors have waited years, in many cases decades, for this opportunity.  Please convey your support for Amendment 110 to Conference Committee members  -   Senators Friedman, Cronin and Tarr; Representatives Michlewitz, Kilcoyne and Kane. I urge you to ensure it is included and unchanged in the version of H.5630 that reaches the Governor's desk before the end of this session.

Thank you for protecting children and standing with survivors of childhood sexual abuse.