Karen Eileen Spilka[2] (born January 11, 1953) is an American politician and attorney serving as a Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate.

She represents the towns of Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway and Natick in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts.

Following his return stateside, he struggled with the effects of what was then called "shell shock", which today is known as post traumatic stress disorder.

[6] Spilka moved to Boston in 1975 after earning her degree in social work from Cornell University, where she became a family counselor and waited tables part time.

[12] This bill also altered how bail is set in order to ensure that individuals are not jailed solely because they are unable to pay, raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Massachusetts from seven to 12 years old (the international standard[13]), decriminalized several minor offenses for juveniles, and required more humane conditions for inmates in solitary confinement.

[15] In 2018, Spilka joined Senators Patricia Jehlen and Julian Cyr to create bill S.2562 - an act relative to gender identity on Massachusetts identification.

[11] The bill would have established a non-binary gender identity option for state licenses, allowing applicants to choose "X" instead of male or female.

Prior to becoming Senate President, she chaired the Biotech Legislative Caucus[17] and has been recognized for her dedicated work to advance the biotechnology industry in Massachusetts.

[18] Spilka was a candidate in the 2013 special election to succeed U.S. Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts's 5th congressional district, who resigned in June 2013 to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.

[25] In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Spilka announced the creation of a racial justice advisory group led by Massachusetts Senators Sonia Chang-Diaz and William Brownsberger to draft legislation in response to police brutality,[26][27] which was subsequently passed and signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker.

[29] The law was hailed as 'robust' by commentators, including the ACLU's Director of Racial Justice, who noted that it created "probably the strongest" police oversight commission in the country.

In 2014, she adopted Lincoln, a pit-bull mix rescue, at the State House during the MSPCA Animal Lobby Day.