Protect Women’s Reproductive Rights
Carroll County Republicans follow the conservative religious right’s attack on Women’s Reproductive Rights. If you believe that women should have access to the full range of birth control and reproductive choices, including abortion, here in New Hampshire, regardless of what happens at the federal level, then Vote Blue in 2024!
GOP’s Dangerous, Anti Women’s Reproductive Rights Legislation
In 2021, the New Hampshire GOP majority passed a 24 week abortion ban in NH with no exceptions for rape or incest that included an invasive vaginal ultrasound requirement, even in early pregnancy, for those seeking an abortion. The only exception was to allow an abortion to save the life of or prevent permanent impairment of the pregnant woman. The bill included the threat of criminal charges for physicians who violate the new law. A doctor who proceeded with an abortion in this scenario could be imprisoned for up to seven years and fined as much as $100,000. No longer would a provider be able to just make the best decision for the mother. They would need to wonder whether some court will later decide that the woman’s problem was “not serious enough” to justify the termination, sending them to prison for 7 years.
There were no exceptions for cases of a fatal fetal anomaly in which a fetus would not survive outside the womb. A woman would be forced to carry the pregnancy to term and go through labor and delivery only to deliver a stillborn baby or watch their baby die.
Thankfully, in 2022 a small group of courageous reasonable Republicans sponsored a bill to repeal some of the most egregious parts of the ban. The vast majority of Republicans in the House opposed the bill, but the Democrats worked with those few Republicans to pass the bill, repealing the invasive early ultrasound mandate and allowing termination of pregnancy after 24 weeks in the case of fatal fetal anomalies. However, rape and incest exceptions were voted down by the Republican majority.
Nearly every year the Republicans bring forth bills to further restrict abortion. In 2022 and 2023 Republicans filed bills prohibiting abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, defined as “cardiac activity” which translates into a ban at 6 weeks gestational age, before most women are aware they are pregnant. In 2024, Republicans filed a bill to prohibit abortion after a fetal gestational age of 15 days. Democrats killed these bills.
Democrats have consistently fought to defeat the Republican efforts to restrict abortion and have tried to place protections for reproductive rights into law such as a bill originating in the Senate in 2022 to prevent the state from further restricting a woman’s right to termination of a pregnancy beyond the 24 week ban. That bill failed to get through the Republican-controlled Senate.
The New Hampshire Democratic Party platform notes that “when and how to start a family is a fundamental individual right that must be protected” and further states “All people must have access to affordable, safe, and legal reproductive health care, including contraception, fertility care, and abortion care, regardless of geography, income, or insurance coverage, and free from government interference. We oppose bans on abortion and other measures that add barriers to accessing care as arbitrary and unnecessary infringements on individual liberty, freedom, and privacy that pose a risk to patient health and wellbeing"
Want to restore and protect women’s reproductive rights, then Vote Blue in 2024! Democrats on your town’s ballot can be found here.
Carroll County Democrats Fight for NH Women’s Rights, GOP Does Not
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England gave a score of 0% to Carroll County Republican Representatives Peternal, Belcher, Cordelli, Smith, and Avellani with ratings of 14% for McDonald and Costable, 29% for Brown and 33% for Crawford. All of the Carroll County Democratic Representatives scored 100%
If you believe women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies and if you believe having access to reproductive care, including abortion, provides opportunities for women to further their education, strengthen their economic security, and improve their ability to parent existing or future children, then Vote Blue in 2024!
Republicans Defund Planned Parenthood in NH
Republicans currently hold a 4-1 majority on the Executive Council, which approves state contracts and executive appointments. The council has voted to deny funding for family planning contracts for organizations that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood. The rejection came despite Democrats and Republican Gov. Chris Sununu urging approval of the funds, which are used for health care, such as cancer screenings and STI testing and treatment, and not for abortions.
Yet, Councilor Joe Kenney voted to strip contracts to three Planned Parenthood facilities; one has since closed.
Kenney repeatedly denied family planning contracts to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Equality Health Center, and Lovering Health Center over unfounded concerns they were using public money for abortions.
The 4-1 party-line vote came after state officials assured councilors that audits instituted by the Legislature confirmed the three centers were using only private money for abortions. No tax dollars funded abortion.
Democratic Executive Council Candidate Emmett Soldati will fight for women’s rights and Planned Parenthood. Vote for him in November.