Reproductive Equity Now New Hampshire State Director Calls on Senate to Maintain Funding for Critical Family Planning Services

WATCH HERE: “The thought of every Granite Stater not having the same opportunity to access preventative health care… keeps me up at night,” says Warriner, reflecting on critical services offered through the Family Planning Program

CONCORD (May 7, 2025) – Yesterday, Reproductive Equity Now’s New Hampshire State Director, Christina Warriner, testified before the New Hampshire Senate Finance Committee during a public hearing regarding the state budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27. Specifically, Warriner spoke in support of the New Hampshire Family Planning Program, a program with a 53-year history of providing low-cost, preventative sexual and reproductive health care to thousands of Granite Staters. You can find this testimony, as prepared for delivery, below. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Oral Testimony

May 6, 2025

Reproductive Equity Now Testimony in Support of New Hampshire Family Planning Program

Christina Warriner, New Hampshire State Director

New Hampshire Senate Finance Committee

**as prepared for delivery**

Thank you, Chairman Gray, and members of the Senate Finance Committee. For the record, my name is Christina Warriner, and I serve as the New Hampshire State Director for Reproductive Equity Now.

This February, my mom passed away from metastatic breast cancer at only 62 years old. As her only child, I am at high risk of developing breast cancer during my lifetime. Thanks to my private insurance coverage, I was recently able to receive a breast cancer screening and be referred for genetic testing. This type of cancer screening is one of the many preventative services covered by the Family Planning program.

This August, I am getting married, and my fiancé and I hope to start a family in the coming years. Thanks to my access to birth control, he and I are able to plan when to make one of the largest transitions of our lives by becoming parents and to ensure that my health is strong before pregnancy. Again, this type of care is one of the many services covered by the Family Planning program.

The thought of every Granite Stater not having the same opportunity to access preventive health care due to the elimination of New Hampshire’s Family Planning Program keeps me up at night.

I sit before you today to urge you to fully fund the New Hampshire Family Planning Program. This program allows thousands of New Hampshire residents to access low or no-cost cancer screenings, birth control, and other preventative sexual and reproductive health care. With a 53-year history of positive impact, it reduces unintended pregnancies and supports those who are pregnant or want to become pregnant in achieving healthy outcomes for both themselves and their newborns. This program supports moms and families, which is a shared value across our state and across party lines that must be reflected in our state budget.

By gutting this program, thousands of our most vulnerable neighbors will have few or no options when making decisions about their family planning. And once again, our trusted community health centers will be asked to do more with less.

Please fully fund the New Hampshire Family Planning Program and keep life-saving health care accessible to all Granite Staters.

###