Planned Parenthood NH Action Fund Responds to Ayotte Gubernatorial Campaign Announcement; Underscores Anti-Reproductive Rights Record

CONCORD, NH – As Kelly Ayotte announces her campaign for New Hampshire governor, Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund is reminding voters about her extensive history of attacking reproductive rights during her political career, including multiple votes to defund Planned Parenthood when she was in the U.S. Senate. 

Kayla Montgomery, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund, issued the following statement: 

“Kelly Ayotte may try to paint herself as pro-woman, but her record tells a very different story. In her last campaign, Ayotte promised to overturn Roe v. Wade; now that the U.S. Supreme Court has decimated federal protections for abortion rights, her extreme anti-abortion agenda is even more dangerous.  

As N.H. Attorney General, Ayotte fought for an unconstitutional abortion restriction at the U.S. Supreme Court. As U.S. Senator, Ayotte voted to defund Planned Parenthood every chance she’s had and in 2011 she voted to eliminate the entire Title X Family Planning Program. In 2016, then-Senator Ayotte refused to consider Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, paving the way for Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump to steal a Supreme Court seat – the appointment which led to the overturning of Roe.  

Let’s be clear – Kelly Ayotte’s anti-abortion position is out of touch with the majority of New Hampshire voters who believe abortion should be safe, legal, and accessible. The future of abortion rights in our state depends on every election; Granite Staters can’t count on Kelly Ayotte to protect our reproductive rights.”

BACKGROUND: 

The New Hampshire Landscape: 

• Without Roe, abortion is still safe and legal in New Hampshire until 24 weeks - for now. A bill to ban abortion would have to pass to further dismantle access to abortion.  
• The restrictions on abortion in New Hampshire are clear: access to abortion at or after 24 weeks is banned, with no exceptions for rape or incest and doctors face criminalization.  

• New Hampshire is the only state in New England without proactive protections for abortion rights in state statutes or our state constitution. 

Kelly Ayotte’s Record on Reproductive Health and Rights: 

• Kelly Ayotte advocated against safe and legal abortion: 

• Ayotte supported the Overturning of Roe v. Wade: “Ayotte said the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion should be overturned, but states should regulate abortion rather than adopt a constitutional change.” [Nashua Telegraph, 8/20/10] 

• In 2015, Senator Ayotte voted for a bill to ban abortion after 20-weeks nationwide. [H.R. 36, Roll Call Vote 268, 9/22/15] 
• In 2013, Senator Ayotte voted for an amendment that would criminalize doctors and close family members who help young people access safe and legal abortion. [S. Amdt. 292 to S. Con. Res. 8, Roll Call Vote 64, 3/22/13]  

• Kelly Ayotte voted to defund family planning providers and programs: 

• Kelly Ayotte has voted four times to 'defund' Planned Parenthood and voted against two separate amendments which would have restored funding for Planned Parenthood back into the underlying bill.” [PPAF press release, 5/4/2016] 
• Ayotte said: "I do not support the use of taxpayer dollars to fund a private organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions each year and harvests babies' body parts. [Ayotte Press Release, 8/3/15] 

• As Attorney General, Kelly Ayotte defended an unconstitutional parental notification law to the U.S. Supreme Court – despite objections from New Hampshire’s governor:  

• In 2005, then N.H. Attorney General Ayotte defended a New Hampshire parental notification law in a case called Ayotte vs. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.  The case stemmed from a 2003 New Hampshire law requiring minors seeking abortions to inform their parents.  After the U.S. District Court made their decision on the case, ruling that it was unconstitutional because it did not have an exception to protect the life or health of the mother, Ayotte appealed it to the U.S. Supreme Court, despite objections from the New Hampshire Governor. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot restrict abortions when it is crucial to the health of the woman and sent the case back down to a lower court to decide whether or not the state legislature meant to include a health exemption to the law. [NPR, 10/11/05; Weekly Standard, 9/9/10] 

• Ayotte cost the state thousands of tax dollars to pay for the legal costs of the case: “For months, Senate Republican candidate Kelly Ayotte’s campaign has promoted that she “won” a U.S. Supreme Court decision, defending a 2003 New Hampshire law requiring that a minor girl notify a parent before getting an abortion. Yet, as attorney general in April 2009, Ayotte approved spending $300,000 in taxpayer money to settle the case and pay the legal costs of the opposing party, after a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge decided Planned Parenthood of Northern New England was the winner.” [Nashua Telegraph, 9/3/10] 

• Kelly Ayotte voted to make it more difficult to obtain affordable birth control: 

• Kelly Ayotte proposed a plan that would undermine the birth control benefit in the Affordable Care Act that has granted access to nearly 300,000 women in New Hampshire no-copay preventive health services, including birth control. Leading medical experts say that Ayotte’s plan would actually “make more women have to pay for their birth control.” 

• Senator Ayotte voted against the “Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act,” which was a legislative fix to the June 2014 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. [S. 2578, Roll Call Vote 228, 7/16/14] 
• Senator Ayotte Voted For The Blunt Amendment And Was a Co-Sponsor Of The Bill: Senator Ayotte co-sponsored and voted for the Blunt Amendment, to allow employers to opt-out of contraception coverage. [S. Amdt. 1520 to S. Amdt. 1730 to S. 1813, Roll Call Vote 24, 3/1/12]  
• Kelly Ayotte wanted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, A recent study showing that the birth control benefit has saved women $1.4 billion a year on birth control pills alone — showing the clear economic impact that access to no-copay birth control has had on women’s lives. 

Polling: 

• A recently released survey from Breakthrough Campaigns conducted on behalf of Amplify NH shows that a supermajority of Granite Staters - 87% - support reproductive freedom and 64% of Granite Staters expect state elected officials to protect or expand abortion access in New Hampshire. Just 11% of Granite Staters want more abortion restrictions in the state. 
• Polling from Maine, a state with similar support for abortion rights, shows that the majority of Mainers (67%) support expanding access to abortion later in pregnancy. The poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center in February 2023, indicates Mainers trust medical providers and their patients to make decisions about pregnancy and abortion.  
• In a 50-state survey, PRRI found most Americans oppose abortion ban policies; 69% of Granite Staters believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 
• August 2022 polling by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center shows that support for abortion rights in New Hampshire is at a historic high and nearly 6 in 10 voters disapproved of the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. 
• Polling released in July, 2021 from the UNH Survey Center shows that New Hampshire’s newly-enacted abortion ban is deeply unpopular, with only one-third of Granite Staters in support of it. Nearly half of independent Granite Staters oppose this ban, as do 27 percent of Republicans. 

• The truth is, most Granite Staters and most Americans support access to safe, legal abortion. If someone has decided to have an abortion, more than 8 in 10 respondents want the experience to be supportive and nonjudgmental, without added burdens or protesters, affordable and safe.  

###  

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.