New Hampshire Republicans introduced their latest attack on abortion rights on Tuesday, proposing a 15-day abortion ban that would prevent pretty much anybody from ever receiving the procedure in the state.
That’s a mere one day after medical experts say detection is even possible via store-bought tests post-conception, according to a 2008 study, and four weeks before most people even realize they’ve missed their period, according to studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And that’s assuming they have a regular period.
The state has a real chance at passing the bill thanks to its Republican trifecta: a conservative governor paired with a GOP-controlled House and Senate.
The bill is tantamount to banning the medical practice outright, cutting abortion access in the state down from 24 weeks and effectively banning all abortions—except in the case of medical emergencies—without outright saying so. That would make the Northeastern state a part of a growing collection of 21 states that have passed the most extreme slashes to abortion access in the country since the ultraconservative Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last year.
That flies in the face of what most New Hampshirans believe. A 2022 St. Anselm College Survey Center poll found that 71 percent of respondents in the state identified as pro-choice.
House Bill 1248-FN would also tack on criminal penalties to any health care providers caught performing abortions, categorizing the offense as a class B felony and potential fines ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, “in addition to any other penalties the court may impose,” according to the text of the proposed legislation.
“The 15-day abortion ban filed by Republican lawmakers is an insult to Granite Staters,” Democratic state Representative Alexis Simpson told HuffPost. “At 15 days, most women do not even know they are pregnant. We must say it like it is ― this proposal would amount to a complete abortion ban in New Hampshire, with no exceptions.”
“In a state where voters overwhelmingly believe that reproductive health decisions should be made solely between patient and medical provider, this legislation is absurd,” she added. “Stopping this bill isn’t enough; it must be completely renounced.”