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Jun 20, 2021

ROUNDUP: Granite Staters Sounding the Alarm As Sununu Doubles Down on Support For Abortion Ban

ROUNDUP: Granite Staters Sounding the Alarm As Sununu Doubles Down on Support For Extreme Abortion Ban Over the Weekend, Sununu Slammed For Dismissing Mandatory Ultrasounds And Exceptions For Rape or Incest As ‘Edge’ Issues

Granite Staters are sounding the alarm after Chris Sununu doubled down on his support for an abortion ban that does not include exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly — and includes mandatory ultrasounds and felony penalties for doctors who perform abortions. On Thursday, Sununu was also slammed by Granite Staters after he dismissed exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal anomaly as “edge” issues and shrugged off questions about his plan to force women to undergo mandatory ultrasounds. He also repeated the lie that the abortion ban in New Hampshire is similar to what is on the books in Massachusetts and New York. WATCH THE ENTIRE EXCHANGE HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDHrEYdAsz4 Read more here and read what Granite Staters are saying below: Union Leader: Pushback over ultrasound

  • “[Sununu’s] willingness to tolerate mandatory ultrasounds as part of the abortion ban opened him to more attacks. ‘Some of the stuff around the edge, the ultrasounds, what is an exception or not an exception, those might be different … but it doesn’t go against my core tenet of not allowing abortions in those late months,’ Sununu said. Senate Deputy Democratic Leader Cindy Rosenwald of Nashua considered those fighting words.’By calling mandatory ultrasounds and exceptions for rape and incest ‘edge’ issues, the governor reinforced his disregard for women and their reproductive freedom,’ Rosenwald said.”

  • “Apparently he doesn’t consider the language in the budget bill, which would make late-stage abortion illegal even in the case of rape, extreme. And it seems his deference to experts doesn’t extend to the 200 health care providers who penned a letter to him noting that abortions in New Hampshire are already performed after 24 weeks only when they are medically necessary to preserve the life and health of the mother or the fetus.”

  • “There’s a lot of good stuff in there,” Sununu said at a Concord press conference [...] Sununu also defended several non-spending items that Republicans have included in the budget plan, including an ultrasound requirement for all people seeking an abortion in New Hampshire and a ban on abortions at 24 weeks, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.”

  • “Speaking at a Tri-City chamber forum, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu was challenged Wednesday about his view on the inclusion of a late-term abortion ban in New Hampshire's two-year $13.5 billion budget. Crystal Paradis, a Somersworth city councilor, asked about the ban on abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy, which medical experts have said is dangerous. ‘The ban has no allowances for rape, incest or fatal fetal anomaly,’ said Paradis. ‘It can mean up to seven years in prison for doctors. What do you say to the medical community who soundly oppose this?’"

  • “Nearly 200 health care professionals and medical students are asking Republican Gov. Chris Sununu to veto the Legislature’s proposed budget over a provision that would ban abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy.”

  • The 24-week abortion ban headed to Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk would do more than just dictate a deadline providers say is medically dangerous. It would require a mother to carry a fetus that cannot live on its own. And it threatens doctors with prison time, requires a costly and unreliable medical procedure, and requires providers to provide the state with abortion statistics – something lawmakers have always rejected.

  • “Sherman said there is absolutely no evidence that women are getting late-term abortions in New Hampshire except for necessary therapeutic reasons such as when there is no chance for the fetus to survive. ‘So, imagine what it must be like to be a young mother late in her pregnancy when an ultrasound shows there is no chance for survival of that fetus – no chance,’ Sherman said. ‘This legislature is forcing that woman to take that terminal fetus to term and go through delivery which is more dangerous than an elective termination of pregnancy.’ [...] ‘So don’t be fooled. It’s an assault on women with no exception for rape or incest. That is a direct assault on women. There is no way to spin that other than to say we are stepping backwards on sexual assault and stepping backwards on the rights of women to determine their own healthcare outcomes,’ Sherman said.”

  • “A dozen “Handmaids” protested at the New Hampshire State House Wednesday to join with other people opposed to the addition of anti-abortion language in the proposed biennial budget. A coalition of opponents to the language, which would make late-stage abortion illegal even in the case of rape, is now in the House and Senate approved budget and the group called on Gov. Chris Sununu to veto the budget and protect a woman’s right to choose.”

  • “Reproductive-health advocates are calling on Gov. Chris Sununu to meet with them about the ban on abortions after 24 weeks, which is currently in both the Senate and House versions of the state budget.”

  • I hope the governor, who claims to support reproductive rights and is reportedly considering running for national office, will have the strength to show his independence by considering the health care benefits of all women and children by vetoing a budget that contains this dangerous provision.

  • “By banning virtually all abortion after 24 weeks, this ban takes complex, high-stakes medical decision-making out of the hands of women, in consultation with their medical providers. It turns health care professionals into criminals and targets for lawsuits from their husbands or their parents (if they are under 18), if the doctors provide abortions or violate any other provisions of the ban (including a medically unnecessary ultrasound requirement). We need to continue to urge Gov. Sununu to hit the brakes on the abortion ban before the Granite State gets any further down the road of cruel and crazy restrictions on health care access.”

  • The abortion provision is inhumane. It has no exemption for rape, incest, or the condition of the fetus. It, too, has no place in the budget bill.

  • As a young New Hampshire resident who plans to have a family, I am concerned about the language in the state budget banning abortion at or after 24 weeks, with virtually no exceptions. This ban fails to recognize how every pregnancy is different and applying a complete ban is unfair and cruel to Granite Staters. This language limits people’s ability to make decisions in difficult, deeply personal, and complex circumstances and needs to be stopped.

Concord Monitor: Letter: A Letter to the governor

  • “I support a woman’s right to choose. I can’t believe that a “pro-choice governor” (your own words) would support an abortion ban that allows no exception for rape, incest or the health of the mother!”

Concord Monitor: Letter: NH in bad company for women

  • “Gov. Sununu could sign the state budget even though it contains an abortion ban. If he does, NH will join states around the country that are making it harder for women to chart the course of their lives and achieve the security they and their families deserve. If women are to ever attain true equality, we need to have the same decision-making authority over our bodies that men currently have. Abortion restrictions do not protect or help women advance, they create difficulty and obstruct our freedom.”

  • “As a young woman and UNH student who relies on reproductive health care in New Hampshire, it is imperative that Governor Sununu vetoes the state budget. Currently, this budget includes an abortion ban at 24 weeks with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the fetus. I envision a family in my future, however, this abortion ban in the state budget could easily negatively affect that vision and the reproductive health care I receive.”

Seacoast Online: Letter: The stealth attack on freedom

  • High on the top of the list of things people in New Hampshire value most are personal freedom and local control, in other words, a real “hands-off” approach. However, all that is about to end if Gov. Sununu approves the “stealth budget” that will cross his desk in a couple of weeks. That budget contains a piece of legislation that would ban virtually all abortions after 24 weeks and require a woman to be a vessel to carry to term a fetus that cannot live on its own—say without a brain. It threatens doctors with prison time, and it requires the disclosure of personal information to the state— HIPPA be damned.”

  • “No abortion restriction is reasonable to someone who is denied the care they need. This ban on abortion has virtually no exception, including no exception for rape, incest, or the health of the fetus. This is an extreme measure that flies in the face of the advice and recommendations of the medical community in this state.”

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