New Hampshire House refuses to either further restrict or protect abortion rights

Source: Associated Press

New Hampshire House refuses to either further restrict or protect abortion rights

BY HOLLY RAMER
Updated 3:13 PM EST, February 1, 2024

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Republican-led but closely divided New Hampshire House rejected three abortion bills Thursday, refusing to either further restrict or protect reproductive rights.

Current state law prohibits abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy except when the mother’s health or life is in danger or there is a fatal fetal anomaly. The House voted 193-184 Thursday in favor of asking voters to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution as well. But the vote fell short of the majority needed to advance the proposal.

The House also rejected a bill that would have required abortions after 15 weeks to be performed with two doctors present and in hospitals with neonatal intensive care units and a third measure that would have banned abortion after 15 days of gestation. The latter was akin to an outright ban as virtually no one knows they are pregnant at that point, and lawmakers took the extra step of voting to “indefinitely postpone” the bill, making it more difficult to revive at a later date.

The only one of three measures to be debated was the constitutional amendment to protect abortion up to 24 weeks and allow abortions beyond that when a physician believes they are necessary. It was sponsored by Rep. Amanda Toll, who spoke in support of the proposal while holding her week-old daughter.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-new-hampshire-3ef87efabac8ae4cfdfe6cd645cf3254