Around New England

New Hampshire House Scuttles Proposed Pro-Abortion State Constitutional Amendment

February 5, 2024

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has voted down a proposed measure that sought to enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution.

The House voted 193-184 in favor of the measure, but that’s less than half of the 400-member body. A state constitutional amendment in New Hampshire requires a 60 percent majority in both the House and Senate, and then a two-thirds majority of the voters at a state election.

The proposed state constitutional amendment declares “a fundamental right to abortion” that the state can’t restrict during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy “unless it is justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.” It also would allow abortion after 24 weeks if it “in the professional judgment of an attending physician, is necessary,” with no standards defining “necessary” except that “The physician shall apply the applicable standard of care in making a professional judgment.”

All Democrats who voted on the measure voted for it.  Most Republicans voted against it.

A roll call from the vote on Thursday, February 1 shows that seven Republicans voted for the measure:

David Bickford (R-Strafford)
Mike Bordes (R-Belknap)
James Mason (R-Merrimack)
Brandon Phinney (R-Strafford)
Mark Proulx (R-Hilslborough)
Susan Vandecasteele (R-Rockingham)
Dan Wolf (R-Merrimack)

Abortion is currently legal in New Hampshire through 24 weeks through state statute – and after 24 weeks in cases of “fetal abnormalities incompatible with life,” if an abortion is deemed “necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman,” and “when continuation of the pregnancy will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function … of the pregnant woman.”

Planned Parenthood sees the constitutional amendment floor vote in the House as an election issue in New Hampshire in November 2024.

“Make no mistake:  even without this constitutional amendment, abortion will still be on the ballot this November as voters choose candidates up and down the ballot, from State House to the Oval Office, based on who will fight for their reproductive freedom,” said Kayla Montgomery, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund, in a press release.

Republicans currently control the New Hampshire House of Representative with a tiny majority:  198-195, with two independents, one member of another party, and four vacancies, according to Ballotpedia.

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