We tracked elected officials' votes on two constitutional amendment proposals to protect the right to abortion, because New Hampshire is currently the only state in New England without legal protections for abortion in state law or its constitution. 

This legislative term, both the New Hampshire House and Senate failed to advance CACR 23 and CACR 24, which if passed by both chambers, would have put a constitutional amendment on the ballot this November to protect Granite Staters’ right to access abortion care.

While citizens of other states have used the democratic process to bring forward a vote on abortion rights directly to the people, New Hampshire residents are barred from directly initiating a statewide referendum allowing citizens to vote directly on issues. Instead, these ballot initiatives must first be introduced and approved by the New Hampshire Legislature before being put in front of New Hampshire voters, which makes the decisions of elected officials in Concord all the more consequential for our democracy and reproductive futures.

While neither of these constitutional amendment proposals received the necessary 60% support to move forward in the legislative process, CACR 23 did receive bipartisan support and a simple majority in the New Hampshire House.

We tracked HB 619 — a bill that bans surgeries for transgender young people, including banning referrals to out of state providers — because every Granite Stater deserves the ability to make dignified choices about their bodies on their own terms. This includes LGBTQ+ youth, who continue to be targeted by extremist legislators’ attempts to control the most personal parts of their lives: their bodies, their sexuality, and their gender expression.

Our borders in New England are porous and people cross state lines every day for work, recreation, and of course, health care. Preventing Granite Staters from accessing the care they want and need is a dangerous decision that restricts bodily autonomy.

This piece of legislation passed both chambers of the legislature and was signed into law on July 19, 2024.

New Hampshire’s Executive Council has now voted five consecutive times to deny the state’s reproductive and sexual health clinics funding for family planning programs. This loss of funding has been a blow to our clinics’ budgets and hinders New Hampshire communities and patients from accessing low-cost, essential health care like birth control, annual exams, pregnancy tests, STI tests and treatment, and cancer screenings. 

With four out of five Councilors voting against the public health interests of their constituents, we must continue to raise our voices and hold the Executive Council accountable for this attack on our reproductive health care.

The New Hampshire Executive Council is a five-person elected body that approves or denies the Governor’s department head appointments, the Governor’s judicial nominations, and all federal and state contracts over $10,000.

Reproductive Equity Now closely followed additional legislation this year that impacts access to maternal health care, fertility care, and childcare. While all pieces of legislation receive a vote in the legislature, roll call votes were not recorded for these bills, so we cannot report on where each elected official stood on these issues. We encourage you to consult our policy memos on maternal health and childcare to learn more and contact your elected officials to ask them how they voted on these bills.