HCR7

Strongly in favor of this bill!

Abortions are in all too many situations a critically important measure to protect womens' health. While no one is particularly happy about them, they must remain an option when medically necessary to ensure a woman's safety.

Abortion is a critical aspect to women's healthcare and that decision should be left between her and her doctor.

"Live free or die." - our state motto. One of the things I prize most about our state is our commitment to freedom. Freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of choice. And yes, I do believe this must include the right to abortion access. Whether a pregnancy is maintained until term or ended early is a decision that should be between the mother, the father (assuming it was not a case of rape or incest), and her healthcare provider. In many cases, abortion is a critical healthcare decision. In the land of the free, we should be exactly that - free.

HCR 7 affirms the position that NH will not further restrict abortion, which is what many lawmakers promised on the campaign trail. The more we can affirm by law that there will be no further restrictions to reproductive care, the harder it will be for certain lawmakers to push more bans and anti-choice legislation, like the 15-week ban they just tried to pass last month. This bill would add an element of protection (or at least precedent) against that happening again.

The termination of pregnancy should be a private matter between a woman and her doctor.

While I am a firm believer that abortion is healthcare and should have absolutely no place in politics and anyone should have the right to an abortion as needed no matter at the point in the pregnancy, this is incredibly important for the women of New Hampshire to ensure they have a safe pregnancy. Statistically, pregnancies that are terminated beyond 16 weeks are mainly due to extreme life threatening complications to either the child or the mother. This bill ensures that those needing to terminate for these absolutely devastating reasons can do so safely without fearing legal backlash.

I believe every human has the right to body autonomy, and the government should not have the final say over what happens to someone else’s body.

Do not further restrict abortion. Access to all reproductive health care -- including abortion -- is crucial to women's health and economic security. Don't like abortion? Don't have one -- each woman can choose what's best for herself, in conjunction with medical advice from her doctor. Thank you. Your constituent, Rebecca Hedlund (Portsmouth)

Women are entitled to body autonomy. People who are already here, existing and living and breathing can’t use our body parts for survival without our consent even after death. If I am not an organ donor and my family doesn’t agree you can’t harvest my organs even if you will die without having them. How is it that I have less body autonomy when I am alive than I would after death?

I agree with this affirmation that NH will not further restrict abortion. My votes at the polls reflected the candidates campaign promises.

Women in NH and all states deserve the freedom and right to determine what is best for their body, mind and wellbeing. Medical decisions should be left between a women and her doctor without fear of governmental consequences. I fully support HCR7.

I strongly support this bill and implore it's passage. Reproductive rights are inexorably tied to bodily autonomy - and nothing is more "live free and die" than the right to control over one's body.

I fully support this bill. Please see to it that our mothers and daughters are ACTUALLY cared for in our state.

Introducing HCR 7 Good afternoon, Chairman McDonald and committee members. I’m proud to introduce HCR 7, a simple and straightforward resolution that allows our constituents to clearly see where the New Hampshire House stands on the right to abortion before 24 weeks of pregnancy. I have heard from so many constituents that they do not want any further restrictions on abortion in New Hampshire. I know many of my colleagues have, as well. We know a supermajority of Granite Staters want their lawmakers to take proactive action on abortion rights in New Hampshire. NH is the only state in New England that doesn’t have the right to abortion clearly spelled out in our state law or state constitution. This lack of clarity is confusing for Granite Staters, and it is our job, as lawmakers, to be clear. What HCR 7 does is clearly show our constituents what our House position is on abortion: that an individual’s ability to access abortion before 24 weeks of pregnancy shall not be denied or infringed upon by the government. We saw how important abortion was in the 2024 election. So many of us running for office promised on the campaign trail to not further restrict abortion in New Hampshire. Now, it’s time to put those words into action. New Hampshire, for so long, has had a long, proud, bipartisan tradition of supporting reproductive rights by voting against harmful legislation. It is important to vote against abortion restrictions and bans, but it's not enough. We, as an elected body, need to show Granite Staters our values, our priorities, and our firm and clear position. We can do that by passing HCR 7. I respectfully urge you to vote Ought to Pass on HCR 7 reflecting a commitment and an action to not further restrict abortion in New Hampshire. Respectfully submitted, Rep. Alexis Simpson Rockingham 33 Exeter, Newfields, Newmarket, & Stratham

As a primary care physician in the Seacoast for 25 years, what a person chooses to do with their body is their own fundamental right. Much deliberation and shared decision making is part of one's health care decisions. Having access and the option is an individual's right. Pregnancy termination is not a simple decision and not having abortion as a component of comprehensive health care can endanger the person carrying the pregnancy.

New Hampshire needs to get with the rest of New England and codify abortion access into state law. It is embarrassing that this is still up for debate.

The ability for a person and family to determine their reproductive outcome is vital to ensuring appropriate healthcare access. Please don't leave access to this capability in the hands on of non-medical officials looking to pander to folks.

I support this bill because I think that an individual's right to terminate their own pregnancy, prior to 24 weeks gestation, shall not be denied or infringed upon in this states. I think that this decision should be made by the woman and her doctor. The right to an abortion in the case of a miscarriage is critical to a woman's life.

Health care decisions should be left to health care professionals and their patients. Protecting access to abortion at the state level is an important way to ensure that NH citizens retain the right to make their own health care decisions. If you believe that limited government is an important NH value then health care decisions should not be left to legislators.

I dearly wish I could have testified in person for this bill. It restores the protection women had under Roe v Wade. As an RN who worked for 15+ years in inpatient maternity/labor/NICU care, I cannot state strongly enough that pregnancy is infinitely more complicated than most people realize. Yes, the majority of pregnancies and births are "uneventful", medically. But when something goes wrong, it goes wrong unexpectedly and rapidly, with high stakes outcomes: women die; women rupture a uterus and become infertile; women become life-threateningly septic (and so do their babies); terrible fetal malformities are discovered, which are incompatible with life outside the womb; SO MANY other terrible outcomes. Which is why it is so critically important that the government NOT be involved in pregnancy care decisions. OB-GYNs have years and years of education and training to deal with emergencies and complications as they arise. Having to work around the government banning certain procedures can tie their hands. We've seen the stories coming out of the south about women dying, almost dying, ending up with lifelong cardiac problems, becoming infertile, etc. Most of these horrible outcomes could be prevented by just letting doctors do their jobs without government interference before 24 weeks. The reality is that 93% of abortions occur during the first trimester (up to 13 weeks). 6% occur from weeks 14-20. About 1% occur after 20 weeks. (Data from CDC and Pew Research) That 1% seems to be the focus of most concerned people - and that 1% are the life-threatening, unexpected, devastating cases that usually require speedy emergency care. I promise you, no MD worth their license is just allowing women to come into a clinic and say, "I've changed my mind about this pregnancy" that late in the second trimester. Doctors need to be able to respond to these pregnancy emergencies without waiting for a callback from a lawyer. The women of NH deserve the basic protection of letting them make medical decisions with their doctors. This may be one of the most important pieces of legislation this year. Please let the women and doctors of NH manage pregnancy without unnecessary government interference. Thank you.

It is disappointing that there are no men joining to co-sponsor this bill. I am one of thousands of men who support it in NH.

Abortions saves lives!

I am a Republican who support reproductive rights and am increasingly concerned by the parties move to the extreme on this issue. I also do not appreciate politicians being vague or even supportive on these rights when campaigning, but then adopting such extreme positions after they are in office. This is a bait and switch, pure and simple and myself and many fellow citizens are already sick of it. The more we can affirm by law that there will be no further restrictions to reproductive care, the harder it will be for two-faced, extremist politicians to push more bans and anti-choice legislation, like the 15-week ban they just tried to pass last month. This bill would add an element of protection (or at least precedent) against that happening again.