Abortion Restrictions
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, states have greater power to restrict abortion. New Hampshire state law bans abortion at 24 weeks gestation with exceptions for fatal fetal diagnoses and the life of the mother.
The New Hampshire Legislature continues to work through a variety of bills regarding how abortion is regulated in the state, many of which are controversial throughout the political spectrum.
Learn more about related debates over contraception
About abortion procedures in New Hampshire
There are around a dozen facilities that provide abortion in New Hampshire. Some are dedicated abortion clinics. In general, abortions may also take place in nonspecialized clinics, private physicians’ offices, or hospitals. Doctors, nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants can perform abortions in New Hampshire.
A majority of New Hampshire counties have no clinics offering abortion services. New Hampshire makes up a small percentage of all the abortions that take place in the United States each year.
Abortion restrictions
Parental notification
The parent or guardian of a minor must receive 48 hours' notice before an abortion is performed. A judge can waive this requirement.
Late term and “partial-birth” abortion
In 2021 Republican legislators passed a ban on abortion after 24 weeks gestation by adding it to the state budget. There is an exception to save the life of the mother and for fatal fetal diagnoses. A mandate to require ultrasounds for every abortion regardless of whether it was medically necessary was lifted in 2022.
“Partial-birth” abortions, where a fetus is removed alive from a mother's body before being terminated, are also illegal in New Hampshire. There is an exception to this rule only when two physicians agree that the life of the mother is at stake.
Reproductive Healthcare Facility Buffer Zone
In 2014, New Hampshire established a 25-foot protest-free buffer zone around reproductive health facilities. This law has never been enforced because doing so would likely lead to lawsuits on the grounds of free speech. There have been several attempts to repeal it in the last few years but all have failed.
Learn more about free speech issues in New Hampshire
State contracts with Planned Parenthood
New Hampshire sometimes contracts with Planned Parenthood for family planning services such as sexually transmitted disease testing, cancer screening, and contraception — but not abortion. These contracts have a rocky history.
In the past, legislators have taken action to try to prevent the state from making contracts with any health care provider that performs abortions, regardless of whether public funds are utilized for that specific service. So far, those bills have failed. However, in 2021 the Legislature passed a law that requires audits to ensure that Planned Parenthood and other women's health clinics are keeping state money segregated from abortion services.
Tracking data on abortions
It is difficult to say with confidence just how many abortions happen in New Hampshire because there is no state law requiring that providers report statistical data on the abortions they perform.
There have been several proposals in past years related to gathering data about abortions in New Hampshire. One, HB 158, would have required abortion providers to submit anonymous details about their patients to a state database. The public would be able to view these statistics, including women’s ages, the gestational stages of fetuses, women’s use of contraceptives, and more.
Fetal homicide
New Hampshire passed a fetal homicide law in 2017. Causing the death of a viable fetus can lead to a charge of second-degree murder, manslaughter, or negligent homicide. The law explicitly excludes legal medical abortions.
“New Hampshire should limit access to abortion.”
- The state should limit access to abortion to protect the rights of the unborn. If a child in the womb has developed to the point where it could live outside of its mother, it deserves to have the full rights of personhood. Therefore, New Hampshire should not allow abortion after viability.
- Fetal homicide laws are a way of seeing that justice is done for mothers who lose their babies as the result of a crime.
- Supporters of state level tracking of abortion statistics in New Hampshire say that it is important for both sides of the debate to know exactly how many abortions are performed each year and other relevant statistics about Granite State women who have abortions. They point out that the Centers for Disease Control’s data often lags 2-3 years behind.
- Some argue that there is not enough regulation of abortion providers. Doctors’ offices – where many of the abortions in New Hampshire take place – are not subject to the oversight of the Dept. Of Health and Human Services the way hospitals and nursing homes are.
- Even if state funds do not directly pay for abortion, they may indirectly support abortion services by "keeping the lights on" at reproductive health clinics. According to pro-life advocates, the only way to ensure the state is not indirectly supporting abortion is to either end state contracts with Planned Parenthood and similar organizations, or require these organizations to perform abortions at physically separate locations.
“New Hampshire should not limit access to abortion.”
- The choice to have a child is one with fundamental implications for a woman’s health as well as her economic and emotional long-term well-being. New Hampshire should therefore continue to leave decisions about whether or not to choose abortion in the hands of women and their medical practitioners.
- By granting fetuses "personhood," fetal homicide laws are a back-door way of chipping away at reproductive freedoms.
- The CDC already reports on broad statistics related to abortion in each state. Reporting on individual patients – even anonymously – could put their privacy at risk. Individual reporting could include information about each woman’s age and county of residence, which might prove intimidating to patients.
- Abortion is one of the safest surgical procedures for women in America. By contrast, the illegal abortion procedures women may resort to when lacking access to legal options are very dangerous.
- New Hampshire should not base its abortion laws on gestational stage of the fetus because judgements about health and viability are incredibly complex. Instead, women in New Hampshire should be able evaluate medical advice and choose to end their pregnancy up until the point of birth.
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