Repro Equity Now Celebrates Ayotte’s Veto of Bill to Restrict Abortion Care
HB 232 would have required health care facilities to go beyond protecting individual conscience rights by requiring that they annually notify employees of their ability to refuse abortion services
CONCORD (July 2, 2026) – After advocacy from Reproductive Equity Now and movement partners, Governor Kelly Ayotte today vetoed HB 232, a bill that would have further restricted abortion access in the Granite State.
While federal law already protects the individual conscience rights of health care providers, HB 232 would have imposed unnecessary new mandates on abortion providers in New Hampshire health care facilities by requiring annual written notices informing employees of their ability to refuse to participate in abortion care. The law would have also created a new pathway for abortion providers to be reported to the Attorney General's Office, inviting political interference into medical care.
"We thank Governor Ayotte for rejecting legislation that would have further politicized health care and jeopardized access to abortion for patients across the state. Every person deserves to make decisions about their health based on their own medical needs—not the political or religious beliefs of others," said Christina Warriner Hamilton, New Hampshire State Director, Reproductive Equity Now. “As Granite Staters continue to bear the brunt of rising health care costs, community clinic closures, and an overburdened health care system, New Hampshire cannot afford policies that make it even harder for patients to receive the care they need. Governor Ayotte’s veto of HB 232 is a victory for keeping medical decisions between a patient and their health care provider. After helping defeat ten anti-abortion bills this legislative session, Reproductive Equity Now remains committed to protecting and expanding access to abortion care so that every Granite Stater can get the health care they need, when they need it.”
Background on HB 232
Introduced by Rep. Mark Pearson (R) in 2025, as originally filed, HB 232 intended to offer health care professionals the right to conscientiously object to providing abortion, sterilization, or artificial contraception services based on religious beliefs or moral or ethical convictions. 1071 Granite Staters registered their opposition to the bill, with only 33 supporting. The bill was retained by the House Judiciary Committee in March of 2025 due to concerns about the harmful consequences of the bill. In September of last year, Rep. Katy Peternel (R) and Rep. Joe Alexander (R) introduced an amended version (2025-2932h) of the bill, which narrowed the scope of the bill to abortion.
In November of last year during a House Judiciary Hearing, Committee Democrats raised concerns about the bill’s impact on rural health care patients’ access to health care, where access to reproductive health care - including abortion and maternity care - is already limited. In response, Rep. Peternel said she believed that “this bill is not about the patients” and dismissed access concerns by claiming “people can travel to get the care that they need, that is the nature of health care in rural America.” The bill passed out of committee as amended on a party-line vote of 10-7.
This January, the bill advanced through the House with a vote of 184-164.
In April, Sen. Regina Birdsell (R), introduced an amended version (2026-1624s) of the bill, which mandates that all health centers and hospitals that offer abortion care annually inform their employees in writing of their right to refuse to participate in abortion care. Additionally, the amendment created a new process for abortion providers to potentially be reported to the Attorney General's office without clarity on how patient and provider privacy would be protected. The bill passed out of committee as amended on a vote of 3-1.
In May, the bill passed the Senate as amended on a voice vote. The House concurred with the amended version with a vote of 179-154.
Attacks on Access to Care
This past legislative session, together with movement partners, Reproductive Equity Now’s advocacy efforts ultimately led to the defeat of ten anti-abortion bills in New Hampshire. These bills attempted to promote medical disinformation regarding “abortion pill reversal,” ban abortion at 20 weeks, repeal the state’s patient safety zone law, and more.
Alongside fighting back against attacks on care this session, Reproductive Equity Now advocated for a Shield Law for Reproductive Health Care Access (SB 551), a bill we drafted and championed alongside Senator Altschiller. Despite strong support from constituents and providers in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Senate voted on party lines to defeat SB 551, legislation that would protect patients and providers in New Hampshire from out-of-state political interference, intimidation, and legal threats related to reproductive health care. In April, NHPR reported that New Hampshire OBGYN residents are considering leaving the Granite State to provide care in states that have shield laws that legally protect their practice.
New Hampshire remains the only state in New England without explicit legal protections for abortion in its state law or constitution.
###
