In Case You Missed It: Granite Staters Tell Their Stories and Tell New Hampshire Lawmakers to Protect Abortion Rights

Today, dozens of Granite Staters gathered in Concord at a House Judiciary Committee meeting where lawmakers heard testimony on a number of bills related to reproductive rights:

• CACR 23, which aims to solidify the right to an abortion in New Hampshire Law
  • Signing in to support this CACR: 1,686; opposed: 282
  • Testimony from PPNNE/PPNHAF
• HB 1248, which proposes an extreme 15-day abortion ban in New Hampshire
  • Signing in to oppose this bill: 1,341; support: 26
  • Testimony from PPNNE/PPNHAF
• HB 1541, which proposes unreasonable limitations on abortion after 15 weeks that have no basis in medicine or science
  • Signing in to oppose this bill: 1,315; support: 28
  • Testimony from PPNNE/PPNHAF

At the hearing, Granite Staters told their personal stories and urged lawmakers to protect access to abortion in New Hampshire. Just a few of these stories are excerpted below.

Katie DeAngelis of Nottingham: 

“Today, I am here to share my story. I am thankful every day for my two wonderful children. My pregnancies were relatively uneventful, which I am so incredibly grateful for. My deliveries, on the other hand, were a very different story. While both were difficult, my last delivery was especially harrowing. I won't go into specifics because much of it I'm still working through today with the help of my therapist. However, the crucial point is that, during that labor, there was a very real moment when I didn't believe either I or my child would be walking out of that hospital.

I have always been pro-choice, even before delivering my son. But it was this experience that taught me two inalienable truths. The first is that we are so fortunate to have the fantastic healthcare providers we have in New Hampshire. Our providers use their knowledge and experience to provide invaluable care to the people across our state. It is providers like the ones who have testified before you that saved my life and my son's life that day. They are the reason that I am here and able to testify. The second truth is that decisions about my body are rightfully mine alone, as I am the only one who truly knows what's at stake.

During both of my pregnancies and deliveries, I was incredibly fortunate to have the protection of Roe. Its fall is one of the deciding factors in my decision not to become pregnant again. I see the current bills Legislators have proposed in the New Hampshire House. I hear the genuine fear among the providers in our medical community who have testified. The last thing that I would want my provider to worry about is being able to prove in a court of law that their conduct was necessary to save my life or whether my life was indeed ever even in danger. I don't want my life to come down to an ‘uncertain legal landscape’ when I have two children who need their mom to come home to them at the end of the day.”

Michelle Cilley Foisy of Temple:

“Heading in for our routine ultrasound at 21 weeks, we were filled with joy and excitement for the new addition to our family. Our 2 and ½ year old was with us that day and thrilled about becoming a big sister. We did not receive good news on that day, December 5, 2005.

On December 10, Kayla was delivered stillborn after our termination the day before. As we held her in our arms for several hours, we said goodbye to the little girl that we continue to love with all of our hearts and will for a lifetime. Kayla was found to have a deletion in her 15th chromosome that was not detected until after our abortion. Our amniocentesis results returned a month after our termination when I would have been 26 weeks pregnant. This timeline is the reason that I began to tell our story in support of the fatal fetal anomaly amendment added to the abortion ban instituted two years ago. It is clear that in these incredibly complex situations, decisions should be left to a pregnant person and their doctor…

I did not make the decision to have an abortion with ease, nor uninformed. Though we had only hours to make our decision, those hours were filled with gathering information and asking many questions. In the days that followed, I continued to look for answers and together with my physicians, we made the best decision for our family. Not once did I look to my state legislators for advice, opinions, or medical knowledge, I trusted in my physician's expertise and the information that we had.

Granite Staters are capable of making thoughtful decisions about their own health care in consultation with their loved ones, faith, and medical providers - as they see fit. New Hampshire’s elected officials should not turn their backs on our state’s tradition of trusting Granite Staters to make these decisions. In the face of national uncertainty, you have the ability to take proactive action to ensure abortion remains safe and legal in New Hampshire.”

Emily Zajano of Exeter:

“I am a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician. My adult life has been dedicated to saving children’s lives. But I could not save my own daughters…

This was my first pregnancy, and very much wanted by my husband and I. We were shocked and thrilled when our first scan at 12 weeks showed 2 babies. However, the ultrasound also showed I had a uterine anomaly – a potentially life-threatening condition. The twins were in 2 different areas of my uterus.

More studies suggested I was safe, and we would have our baby girls. We chose names. I marked the date on my calendar when they would be 29 weeks and very likely to survive.

At 16 weeks and 4 days pregnant, I woke up with pain. That became sharp, severe. It hurt to breathe. I was ultimately sent to a Boston hospital. My husband and I sat in a dark room where monitors show the ultrasound images - turned on during happy scans, turned off during the sad ones. They were off for ours.

The news was worse than we could imagine. The left side was a previously unrecognized rudimentary horn, and the uterine wall had ruptured in 2 places. This fetus had no chance. My womb was literally broken. On the right side, the baby had a congenital heart defect which would require surgery and functioning lungs to survive. If she could make it to viability in my broken womb. These findings changed everything. To save my life, I needed surgery, and one of my daughters inside, needed to be removed.

In surgery, they saved the unicornuate uterus, and the fetus on the right was still there. But it was clear that allowing the pregnancy to continue would put me at a huge risk. For two weeks, I sat on the couch, tried to heal from surgery, and I loved my baby as hard as I could. I grieved.

We went to Boston for the appointment the day before the D&C, the abortion. We were there for medical care. We were there to save my life. We were there because this was the most appropriate decision for our family. We were there because we needed to be there.

My abortions saved my life. My abortions allowed me to have more children. My abortions allowed me to continue my work - to save your children’s lives. As a doctor, and as a patient, I understand just how different every pregnancy is. Granite Staters and their medical providers need all options available to them without government interference.”

### 

Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund (PPNHAF) is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in New Hampshire. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy. 

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is the largest provider of reproductive and sexual health care across the State of New Hampshire. We serve New Hampshire residents through 5 health centers in Derry, Exeter, Keene, Manchester and White River Junction, VT. Last fiscal year we saw more than 11,000 patients at these sites. PPNNE was named a 2021 Guardian of Excellence Award^® winner by Press Ganey, the national leader in health care consumer and workforce engagement. Press Ganey recognizes PPNNE as a top-performing health care organization, achieving the 95^th percentile or above for performance in patient experience.