Senators Carson, Gannon, French, Whitley, Kahn,
In the 2022 legislative session, the New Hampshire Legislature will have the opportunity to show their constituents that they support Roe v. Wade and support people’s freedom to make their own private medical decisions which include abortion access. The Access to Abortion Care Act would put abortion rights into statute in New Hampshire. If passed into law, regardless of what happens in the US Supreme Court, abortion will remain safe, legal, and accessible in the Granite State.
SB436 upholds long-held New Hampshire values by putting into law that the state cannot further interfere in the right to access abortion. This bill does not change any current New Hampshire abortion laws; it does however, provide critical protections to ensure that Granite State women and families can work with their doctors to get the healthcare they need.
Roe v. Wade has had bipartisan support for years. Poll after poll has shown that access to safe, legal abortion is popular and support is at the highest it’s been in 2 decades, with 7 in 10 Americans opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade. Unfortunately the current makeup of the Supreme Court does not represent these widespread American values, which is why states like New Hampshire must act now to put proactive protections in place before abortion care is inaccessible or gone altogether in the Granite State
The science of medicine is not subjective and a strongly held personal belief should never outweigh scientific evidence, override standards of medical care or drive policy that puts a person’s health or life at risk.
I ask that you support SB 436 to keep abortion access safe in New Hampshire. I request that this written testimony be submitted to the public record.
Thank you
Ellen M Joyce, MD, FACOG
Assistant Professor Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine
Meriden, NH 03770