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Where the candidates for NH governor stand on abortion, IVF and reproductive care

A supporter of abortion rights with a sign during a rally in June of 2022 in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Gaby Lozada
/
NHPR
One scene from a June 2022 abortion rights rally in Manchester, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

Debates over the future of abortion policy in New Hampshire have shaped this year’s race for governor.

Both Democrat Joyce Craig and Republican Kelly Ayotte say they’ll oppose any new restrictions on abortion. Both have also, in campaign ads, invoked their own experiences with miscarriage to emphasize their commitment to reproductive rights.

But Craig, the former mayor of Manchester, and Ayotte, a former U.S. Senator and state attorney general, come to this race with very different records on the issue – and different visions for what role the state should play in reproductive care.

Craig, like many Democrats this cycle, has made abortion rights a central part of her campaign message. She says the state should play a more active role in guaranteeing access to – and funding – abortion and other reproductive health care. Ayotte, who has supported more restrictive abortion policies in the past, says she supports the state’s current abortion laws and would not change them.

Here’s a closer look at both candidates’ plans on the issue.

Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig participate in a forum for governor candidates at NHPR in Concord on Oct. 22, 2024.
Zoey Knox
/
NHPR
Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig participate in a forum for governor candidates at NHPR in Concord on Oct. 22, 2024.

NH’s current abortion law

Abortion is currently legal in New Hampshire up to 24 weeks. Under a law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu in 2021, it’s banned after that point, with narrow exceptions for medical emergencies and fatal fetal anomalies.

Abortions are rarely done that late in pregnancy. In 2021, just 1% of abortions nationwide occurred at 21 weeks or later, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they often involve complex medical situations or patients who faced barriers to access earlier in pregnancy.

Craig says she wants to repeal the 24-week ban. She and other Democrats have argued the threat of criminal penalties could make doctors hesitant to provide necessary care when something does go wrong, even with the exception for “medical emergencies.”

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In her first television ad of the campaign, Craig shared that she experienced a miscarriage and “was able to end my pregnancy without interference.” New Hampshire’s 24-week ban states clearly that it does not apply to miscarriages, but there have been reports of patients in other states being denied miscarriage care since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“I’m running for governor because these decisions belong to women, not politicians,” Craig said in the ad.

Asked in an interview whether she would direct her attorney general not to prosecute doctors under the 24-week ban, Craig initially reiterated that she trusts women to make their own decisions.

“It goes back to what I said: we need to make sure that women have access to reproductive health care, and we need to make sure that doctors are protected in this situation to provide the health care that's necessary,” she said when pressed on the topic. “And if that's what I would need to do, then I would say yes."

Ayotte, like other state Republicans, has called the 24-week limit a reasonable restriction.

“We found a compromise here. It gives women the freedom [to get an abortion] up to six months,” she said in an interview with NHPR’s Morning Edition in August. “I respect that. I will not change it. So just to be clear to your listeners, if anyone sends me something more restrictive, I'll veto it.”

Ayotte’s campaign did not make her available for an interview for this story. A campaign spokesperson did not answer written questions about how her administration would enforce the 24-week ban, or whether she would support adding exceptions for rape and incest.


Ayotte’s record in the U.S. Senate, as AG

Ayotte has previously supported more restrictive abortion laws, describing herself as a “conservative, pro-life” politician. During her time in the U.S. Senate, Ayotte voted for a national ban on most abortions after 20 weeks, and to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

“I need more pro-life women in the United States Senate to help me carry on this fight to protect the sanctity of life, and to make sure that we defend the rights of the unborn,” Ayotte said at an event hosted by the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List in 2011, shortly after being elected.

As New Hampshire’s attorney general, Ayotte also defended a parental notification abortion law before the U.S. Supreme Court, a move that put her at odds with then-Gov. John Lynch.

Asked by WMUR in April whether her views on abortion have since shifted, Ayotte said she sees the issue as settled in New Hampshire.

“Well, we all have strong personal feelings about abortion,” she told WMUR. “But in New Hampshire, we’ve reached a consensus here, and one of my jobs as governor is really to bring people together around difficult issues. And I believe New Hampshire has come together around our current law.”

Just this week, Ayotte also released a campaign ad of her own sharing that she, too, experienced a miscarriage three months into pregnancy, while her husband was deployed in the Middle East. She didn’t tie that experience to her stance on abortion, instead using it to signal her support for fertility treatment.

“I know what that feeling is like when you have your dream shattered and you think, ‘Wow, what if I can’t have a baby?’” Ayotte said in the ad. “So I would never deny any woman or family a treatment like IVF.”


Family planning funding

Funding for family planning services has also been a flashpoint in state politics in recent years.

Since 2021, Republicans on the New Hampshire Executive Council have blocked that funding from going to Planned Parenthood and two smaller reproductive health providers, Equality Health Center in Concord and Lovering Health Center in Greenland.

The money is part of a federal safety-net program that funds contraception, STI testing, cancer screenings and other routine reproductive health care for low-income patients. Republican executive councilors have said they oppose the funds going to clinics like Planned Parenthood that also provide abortions, despite state audits confirming none of the money is used for abortions.

Craig says she would restore funding for Planned Parenthood and other providers, though she’d ultimately need the Executive Council to sign off.

Ayotte, meanwhile, told New Hampshire Bulletin last year that she would oppose resuming funding for Planned Parenthood because it’s “the largest provider of abortions in the country and also it’s really somewhat of a political organization.”

Ayotte said she would steer that money instead to community health centers. State health officials, however, have said they’ve been unable to find alternative providers for those services in much of the state.

Scene from an anti-abortion rally in Manchester, New Hampshire in June of 2022.
Casey McDermott
/
NHPR
An anti-abortion rally in Manchester in June 2022.

Other reproductive health plans

Craig has proposed a number of policies aimed at increasing access to abortion and other reproductive health care in New Hampshire.

Among other things, she wants New Hampshire’s Medicaid program to cover abortions using state funds, and would advocate for legislation requiring private insurers to cover abortions as well.

Craig also says she would establish a Bureau of Reproductive Health Care within state government, and nominate “pro-choice justices” to the state supreme court.

Another of Craig’s proposals would target so-called crisis pregnancy centers that seek to dissuade women from having abortions – requiring them to disclose that they do not offer referrals for abortion or contraception and are not covered by federal patient-privacy laws. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law requiring similar disclosures.

Much of Craig’s agenda would need buy-in from the state Legislature or Executive Council – so its feasibility could depend on which party controls those bodies after the November election.

In a statement provided by a spokesperson, Ayotte said she would prioritize women’s health in general as governor.

“In the United States Senate, I fought for access to better cancer screenings for women, including 3D mammograms, over-the-counter birth control, and stronger protections for pregnant women against discrimination in the workplace,” she said. “As Governor, I’ll continue to fight for better health outcomes for women and ensure our community health centers have the funding they need to ensure a healthier future for everyone in New Hampshire.”

Ayotte has repeatedly said she supports access to fertility treatments like IVF. In her statement, she would “protect access to IVF” and “work to hold insurance companies accountable and make this treatment more affordable for parents.” Her campaign did not answer a question about what specific policies she would pursue to do so.

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Paul Cuno-Booth covers health and equity for NHPR. He previously worked as a reporter and editor for The Keene Sentinel, where he wrote about police accountability, local government and a range of other topics. He can be reached at pcuno-booth@nhpr.org.
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