ROUNDUP: With Future of Roe v. Wade At Stake, Granite Staters Are Ready to Support Abortion Rights

As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Mississippi’s abortion ban, hundreds of Granite Staters yesterday joined a rally at the State House to support access to abortion and reproductive rights. This is the most consequential case for abortion rights in recent history, which could overturn Roe v. Wade and open the door for New Hampshire Republicans to further attack reproductive freedoms. The rally yesterday was just the latest sign that Granite Staters will hold the NH GOP accountable for their anti-choice actions — which includes passing an abortion ban and defunding Planned Parenthood — in next year’s midterm elections. Read highlights of yesterday’s rally below:

WMUR: Abortion-rights Crowd Protests At State House As U.S. Supreme Court Considers Case

• Gov. Chris Sununu came under fire for his recent comments about the case. "In terms of this Dobbs case down in Washington, that is not an overturn of Roe v. Wade," Sununu said. "It has to do with viability and all this kind of other stuff. I'm not really paying attention to that case." State representatives at the rally said the governor shouldn't be checking out on this issue. "I think it's incredibly dismissive, as a woman," said state Rep. Megan Murray, D-Amherst.

Union Leader: As High Court Debates, Nh Fight Over Abortion Looms In 2022

• Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate want to enact abortion protections that could apply regardless of what the nation’s highest court rules. [...] Meanwhile, anti-abortion legislators have their own designs on the issue, with 2022 legislative proposals that would ban an abortion once there’s evidence of a fetal heartbeat as well as permit a biological father to go to court to prevent an expectant mother from terminating a pregnancy without his support.

InDepthNH: Day Of Action Held In Concord To Support Reproductive Rights

• With abortion rights likely to be a major issue in the courts, legislature, and politics in 2022, hundreds of residents attended a rally and press conference at the State House Wednesday in support of bills to protect a woman’s right to choose. [...] The Day of Action rally by Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund drew several hundred protesters carrying signs who listened to various Democratic state leaders.

Concord Monitor: In Concord And Washington, They Rallied For Abortion Rights

• In Washington, members of New Hampshire’s all-Democratic congressional delegation gathered in front of the nation’s highest court echoing the same message. U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster held a similar “Bans off our bodies” sign. The New Hampshire rally included support for a bill, dubbed the Access to Abortion-care Act, that would prevent future legislation from limiting access to abortions.

NHPR: With a challenge to Roe before U.S. Supreme Court, N.H. abortion rights activists seek state-level protections

• New Hampshire abortion rights advocates are pushing to undo New Hampshire’s new ban on abortion after 24 weeks set to take effect January 1, as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could undo the privacy protections in Roe v. Wade.

NH Bulletin: Commentary: Crisis moment for abortion rights underscores need for proactive action

• In 2022, states across the country are gearing up to either ban or protect abortion access. New Hampshire has a choice: either we believe in bodily autonomy and our right to make personal, private medical decisions without government interference – or we don’t. This isn’t partisan. An individual’s ability to access abortion care is a matter of equality and liberty for all Granite Staters. Now is the time to act – before it’s too late. By the time lawmakers leave Concord for their summer break next June, abortion could be illegal in 26 states. We hope the majority of Granite Staters who believe abortion care should remain safe, legal, and accessible will join us in calling on lawmakers to protect abortion rights in New Hampshire by passing the Access to Abortion-care Act.

New York Times: Abortion Decision Could Spill Into Midterm Elections

• In New Hampshire, a state with a history of strongly favoring abortion rights, Ms. Hassan and fellow Democrats have repeatedly criticized state Republicans for cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood and instituting new abortion restrictions such as mandatory ultrasounds for those seeking to terminate a pregnancy.

• Despite the decision by Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, not to challenge her next November, Ms. Hassan is still likely to face difficult opposition given the political climate. She vowed in a statement on Wednesday that she “will not be shy about contrasting my record of protecting reproductive rights with their support for policies that take away women’s liberty.”

• Her Democratic state colleague, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, told reporters this week before the court hearing that “we cannot allow Republican lawmakers to turn back the clock on women’s reproductive health and rights, which is precisely what the Mississippi case seeks to do.”

• “It is time to sound the alarm,” Ms. Shaheen said.

AP: Democrats Hope Threat to Abortion Rights Will Rouse Voters

• “If the Supreme Court won’t protect a woman’s fundamental decision-making rights, and won’t respect a woman’s role as a full and equal citizen in a democracy, it leaves people at the mercy of a state legislature like the one we’re seeing in New Hampshire,” Hassan said.

• New Hampshire, like states across the West, has a long bipartisan history of supporting abortion rights — even Republican Gov. Chris Sununu describes himself as pro-choice — but the state’s Republican-led Legislature has been moving aggressively to enact restrictions in recent months.