Union Leader | ICYMI: NH Lawmakers Publish Op-Ed Calling on Legislature to Affirm Abortion As Basic Health Care

UNION LEADER: Sen. Altschiller & Rep. Hakken-Phillips declare it’s time to “make clear to all Granite Staters that they have the right to bodily autonomy, self-determination, and control over their reproductive futures.”

New Hampshire State Senator Debra Altschiller (D-Stratham) and State Representative Mary Hakken-Phillips (D-Hanover) co-authored an op-ed published in the New Hampshire Union Leader, titled “Abortion Is Basic Health Care,” urging the New Hampshire Legislature to affirm Granite Staters’ right to abortion care. This op-ed was drafted in partnership with Reproductive Equity Now, a reproductive rights organization working across New Hampshire and New England to make equitable access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care a reality for all people. Read more HERE or below.

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Union Leader | March 19, 2025

Abortion Is Basic Health Care

By Sen. Debra Altschiller & Rep. Mary Hakken-Phillips

SINCE INAUGURATION day, the Trump administration — allied with anti-abortion extremists in state legislatures across the nation — has taken new and devastating action to restrict access to abortion care. With attacks on our reproductive freedom coming with renewed force from the federal government, New Hampshire can’t afford to go on without explicit protections for abortion care in state law. It’s time to decisively protect reproductive freedom and make clear to all Granite Staters that they have the right to bodily autonomy, self-determination, and control over their reproductive futures.

New Hampshire once had a long history of supporting reproductive freedom but is now the only state in New England where abortion is not a right protected by state law or a state constitution. While abortion is not criminalized until after 24 weeks of gestation in the Granite State, abortion access is not protected in state law. Without clear protections, this legacy is precarious and can easily be dismantled.

Anti-abortion legislators know this. Every year they introduce bills to ban abortion here. In fact, they are doing it right now. In only the first two months of this legislative session, anti-abortion legislators have introduced several bills that would unreasonably and dangerously restrict abortion care. One such bill recently introduced in the House sought to ban abortion after 15 weeks. This proposed legislation was so radically unpopular that it prompted more than 12,000 Granite Staters to register their opposition to the bill, compared to a small handful who registered support. The overwhelmingly negative response led the sponsor to withdraw the bill.

Granite Staters have made themselves clear time and time again: these repetitive attacks on our bodily autonomy are completely out-of-step with our values. According to a UMass Lowell/YouGov poll, 78% of Granite Staters believe people should have the right to access abortion in every state in the United States. Granite Staters overwhelmingly support the right to abortion care and want to know that they can count on their legislators to protect reproductive freedom.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, created a nationwide crisis of misinformation and confusion with respect to abortion care. Polling shows that more than half of American women are unsure about the legality of medication abortion in their state. A third of women don’t know if they are able to access emergency contraception legally where they live. Without a clear statute affirming that Granite Staters have the right to access abortion care, this confusion and fear will continue to grow.

New Hampshire leaders have a responsibility to pass legislation affirming that abortion is basic health care and a human right. That’s why we have joined a group of lawmakers in introducing HCR 7 and SB 260, companion legislation that affirms abortion as health care protected under state law. These bills would ensure that people have full control over their bodies, lives, and futures.

This concept is the very premise that many leaders in the New Hampshire Legislature and Governor Kelly Ayotte ran their campaigns on — a promise to not further restrict access to abortion care. But Granite Staters have reason to doubt their promises. Governor Chris Sununu also pledged not to alter state law relative to abortion, yet during his tenure signed the first abortion ban in modern state history. Governor Ayotte — who voted for abortion restrictions during her tenure in the U.S. Senate — and members of the legislative majority must prove to their constituents that they’ll stand by their campaign promises.

Unfortunately, the committee that heard HCR 7 last month voted along party lines to give the resolution an unfavorable recommendation. However, this Thursday, the House of Representatives is set to vote on this resolution, which will determine the resolution’s viability. Regardless of the outcome of the House resolution, SB 260 is still in play. The Legislature still has the opportunity to protect and uphold abortion access and reproductive freedom by passing SB 260.

Abortion is basic health care. New Hampshire must acknowledge that abortion access is critical to ensuring that everyone can live, thrive, and raise families in healthy communities. That includes access to the care we need without worrying about annual threats to our health, freedom, and well-being. Patients and their doctors are better qualified to make personal reproductive health care decisions than politicians.  

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