Statements on Today’s Executive Council Vote to Defund Family Planning Services

Concord, N.H. - Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Equality Health Center, and Lovering Health Center released the following statements in response to today’s Executive Council vote:

Kayla Montgomery, Vice President for Public Affairs at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England: "The New Hampshire Executive Council's repeated rejection of funding that the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has set aside for vital reproductive health care providers is not only disheartening but dangerous. These facilities are lifelines for our communities, offering essential preventive care that impacts the health and well-being of thousands of Granite Staters. While Planned Parenthood will serve patients no matter what, today’s vote continues to cause unnecessary uncertainty in an already chaotic reproductive health care landscape, and puts Granite Staters’ future access to local, quality, affordable, compassionate health care in jeopardy.”

“We urge Councilors Kenney, Stevens, Gatsas, and Wheeler to prioritize the health of their constituents over their political parties, reconsider these contracts immediately, and reinstate crucial funding for health care.”

Sandi Denoncour, Executive Director of Lovering Health Center: “The Executive Council’s repeated votes against comprehensive family planning funding for our state’s health centers is taking a toll. Because of these votes, the Lovering Health Center has had to make difficult staffing decisions and remains with limited capacity for critical community education and prevention work that, when funded, has reached thousands of at-risk people each year. The Council’s repeated votes to defund reproductive health providers threatens New Hampshire’s strong maternal health outcomes, including the lowest unintended pregnancies and teen pregnancy rates in the country.”

Jinelle Hobson, Executive Director of Equality Health Center: “The fact is New Hampshire patients and our state’s health care infrastructure have been and will continue to be negatively impacted by these multiple defund votes. The Executive Council is failing public health and the over 12,000 Granite Staters who rely on our health centers to receive quality, affordable health care.”

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FACT: The NH Family Planning Program Has a Major Impact on Health Outcomes in New Hampshire

• New Hampshire has the lowest unintended pregnancies and teen pregnancy rates in the country and some of the best maternal health outcomes. The New Hampshire Family Planning Program is part of the network of care that drives these positive outcomes.
  • However, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are skyrocketing in NH. New Hampshire is currently in “outbreak” status as reported by NH DHHS for gonorrhea and syphilis, both of which had the highest number of cases reported in NH in a single year in 2021. Additionally, a drug resistant strain of gonorrhea appeared in New England this year. 
• During an October 2021 Executive Council discussion over family planning funding, Councilor Cinde Warmington and DHHS Commissioner Shibinette highlighted the fragility of New Hampshire’s positive maternal/fetal health outcomes and the impact the defund votes could have. Shibinette said that these defunding efforts could make it harder to attract maternal fetal health care providers. “I think that it makes sense that specialty and subspeciality providers would typically settle in states that are more supportive and less restrictive around family planning and abortion. The more restrictive we become, the less attractive New Hampshire becomes for those specialties.”
• Since the last family planning vote, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ushering rapid chaos and confusion for family planning patients and clinics in this country, and there has been an increased demand for contraception. However, even with this increased demand, 66 clinics across 15 states have been forced to close in the 100 days post-Dobbs decision.
• Family Planning Programs save money. The NH Family Planning Program saves the State millions in taxpayer dollars by providing patients with services to prevent or delay pregnancies and to protect against reproductive cancers and STIs. Overall, research has shown that publicly funded family planning services resulted in an estimated savings of $4.83 for every public dollar invested.