The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday against recommending a bill that would limit abortions in New Hampshire to 20 weeks except in the case of medical emergencies.
New Hampshire law currently restricts most abortions at 24 weeks.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kevin Scully, a Republican from Nashua, said his intent with the bill was to limit abortions to align with the standards of existing criminal law in New Hampshire. The bill would also allow the state to charge someone who performs an abortion at or after 20 weeks with a Class B felony.
“It is the age established by law and is the age that should have been recognized and employed when the Fetal Life Protection Act was passed,” Scully said.
In her inaugural address, Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she would veto bills that further restrict abortion access in the state.
The proposed bill also specified certain medical emergencies that would qualify as exceptions. Emily Zajano, a pediatric emergency medicine physician from Exeter who testified against the bill, said pregnancy has too many risks to write out exceptions for an abortion.
“The complications are so varied that there is not a law that can thread the needle to protect every person in every pregnancy,” Zajano said. “We need to leave the decisions to the doctors and the patients in the room who make the best choices for themselves.”
Zajano was one of several doctors and medical providers who testified against the bill, like Fedelma McKenna, a midwife from Nashua.
McKenna said pregnancy carries many risks, and being a midwife involves constant risk assessment. A 20-week ban, she said, would impede her medical practice.
“20 weeks is too early to have the information necessary that some patients will need to make truly heartbreaking decisions regarding tragic and unexpected anomalies,” McKenna said. “It also introduces uncertainty into the provider's ability to address emergencies.”
The New Hampshire House and Senate have seen a number of bills related to abortion this year, including a Republican bill that would repeal buffer zones outside of medical facilities that provide abortions, and a Democratic bill that would legally shield medical providers for performing abortion care to out-of-state patients.
