New Hampshire Political News

capitol-domeNARAL Needs Your Help!

There are currently 8 anti-choice measures being considered in the NH Senate, and 4 of them will be heard before the HHS committee on Thursday, April 12. NARAL would love if you could join them for these hearings to make sure members of the committee know NH voters won't tolerate attacks on reproductive healthcare! The hearing start at 1:00 PM in State House Room 100 - please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

Also, this week NARAL is starting a month of phone banks with Planned Parenthood of Northern New England aimed at getting constituents to call their state senators to urge them to reject the aforementioned 8 anti-choice bills. This week NARAL will have two phone banks, both at 18 Low Ave in Concord:
-Tuesday, April 10 from 5-8 and
-Thursday, April 12 from 5-8

It'd be great to see you there!

Please RSVP to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Communications Coordinator, if you're available or have any questions.

Thank you for all you do to protect choice in the Granite State!

February 2012 Republican NH House Activities

The following are clips from articles written by Annemarie Timmons for the Concord Monitor:

2/24/2012: Committee okays birth control bill - Measure to go to full House for vote

Legislation allowing employers to eliminate birth control from their health plans on religious grounds cleared a House committee on a 10-6 vote yesterday with the support of the Catholic Church and House Speaker Bill O'Brien. The only Republican on the committee to vote against the measure was Rep. Seth Cohn of Canterbury, who objected to the way the legislation was introduced. It was tacked onto an otherwise mundane bill Cohn had filed to sort out outdated state laws.

"It does take a non-controversial cleanup bill and politicizes it," Cohn said. Rep. Christopher Serlin, a Portsmouth Democrat, agreed. "This is being ramrodded through without a full discussion," he said. Rep. Paul Brown, a Raymond Republican, echoed those concerns but said, "I will vote for the amendment, but with some discomfort."

The legislation would overturn a 12-year-old state law that requires insurance companies to cover contraceptive visits and prescriptions if they cover other medicines and outpatient visits. That law was approved by a Republican-led Legislature in 1999 without objection from the Catholic Church. Churches that want to bypass the requirement can self-insure their employees, as the Diocese of Manchester does.

The bill heads to the full House next, and on to the Senate if it passes there. Colin Manning, Gov. John Lynch's spokesman, declined to say whether Lynch will veto the legislation should it reach his desk. But he indicated Lynch doesn't support changing the law.

2/22/2012: Resolution blasts birth control rule

Federal health officials can expect a letter from the New Hampshire House saying just over half its 400 members oppose a federal mandate that requires health plans to cover contraceptives and sterilizations. House Speaker Bill O'Brien of Mont Vernon introduced the resolution earlier this month and yesterday got the measure through the House by a wide margin, 227-121. He and supporters say their intent is to protect a religious institution's right to object to birth control.

Today, O'Brien and several other Republicans will resume a second effort, this one to undo a 1999 state law that requires insurance companies to provide contraceptive coverage.

Lawmakers in 1999 considered and rejected a religious exemption to the law without objection from the church community. Instead, churches like the Diocese of Manchester (and any employer) have exempted themselves from providing contraceptive care by self-insuring.

January 24, 2012 Women's Health Care Legislation Hearings at the NH State House

On Tuesday January 24, 2012, a variety of legislative bills related to a woman's ability to make her own health care decisions are being heard in Concord. Please either contact your NH lawmaker via phone or email, or come to the hearings! 

These hearings are held at Judiciary Com, LOB 208:

  • HB 1653 - 11:00am. Health provider conscience opt-out.
  • HB 1659 - 11:30am. Scripted abortion counseling required by MD or licensed therapist.
  • HB 1660 - 12:30pm. Banning all abortions after 20 weeks gestation.
  • HB 1679 - 1:30pm. Prohibits partial-birth abortions and third trimester abortions.

This hearing is held at Health & Human Services Committee, LOB 205:

  • HB 1680 - Requiring the NH DHHS to collect abortion statistics with individual profiles.

Please contact your NH lawmaker via phone or email, or even better  come to the hearings! Public are welcome and reservations are not required. Tell lawmakers to respect their constituents' ability to make their own decisions about their bodies, their families, their futures. There is no need for government to intrude.


    Parental Notification Law Now In Effect

    Beginning January 1, 2012, all minors or an incompetent female adult wanting to have an abortion will be required to inform their parents/guardian or get permission from a judge. Specifically HB 329 prohibits any abortion provider from performing an abortion on minors or an incompetent adult female without giving 48 hours’ written notice, in person or by certified mail, to a parent or guardian unless a medical emergency exists. This bill also establishes a procedure for waiver of the notice in certain circumstances. Click here to go to a page on this website that explains the parental notification bill for our patients.

    To read a January 3, 2012 Nashua Telegraph article about this law, please click here (will open in a new window).

    To read the bill as written, please click here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2011/HB0329.html

    For information about how you are being represented here in NH, NH Governor John Lynch (D) Votes Pro-Choice. Click here: http://www.governor.nh.gov/

    To find out who is your NH legislator and their voting record, click here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/housemembers.html

    NH Members of the House of Representatives:

    District 1: Frank Guinta, (R) Votes Anti-Choice. Click here: http://guinta.house.gov/
    District 2 : Charlie Bass, (R) Votes Mixed Pro/Anti Choice. Click here: http://bass.house.gov/

    NH Members of the Senate:

    Kelly Ayotte (R) Votes Anti-Choice. Click here: http://ayotte.senate.gov/
    Jeanne Shaheen (D) Votes Pro-Choice. Click here: http://shaheen.senate.gov/

     

    Don't Be Deceived!

    Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), also known as pregnancy resource centers, are agencies established to counsel women against having abortions. These anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centers” deceive women every day. New Hampshire is home to 26 crisis centers in communities like Keene, Manchester, Concord, Portsmouth, and Dover. None of the CPC’s in NH are actually licensed medical facilities. They spread misinformation about abortion and birth control. CPCs never provide abortion care or referrals for abortion, even if the woman asks for this information.

    The Concord Feminist Health Center believes that women who face an unintended pregnancy and want the facts about all their options should not be subjected to lies, pressure, and lectures from anti-choice volunteers. Get the true facts! We trust women to make the right decision for themselves and their families.