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 will oppose any new abortion restrictions. Both have also cited their own experiences with miscarriages in campaign ads to emphasize their commitment to reproductive rights.

But Craig, the former mayor of Manchester, and Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and attorney general, come to this race with very different experiences on the issue — and different ideas about what role government should play in reproductive health.

Craig, like many Democrats this cycle, has made abortion rights a central part of her campaign message. She believes the state should play a more active role in ensuring access to and funding abortion and other reproductive health services. 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.

Dan Tuohy / Todd Bookman

/

NHPR

NH’s current abortion law

Abortion is currently legal in New Hampshire until 24 weeks. Under a law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu in 2021, it is now banned, with few exceptions for medical emergencies and fatal fetal anomalies.

Abortions are rarely performed this late in pregnancy. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 1% of abortions nationwide in 2021 occurred at 21 weeks or later, and these often involved complex medical situations or patients facing access barriers early in pregnancy were.

Craig says she wants to lift the 24-week ban. She and other Democrats have argued that the threat of criminal sanctions could make doctors reluctant to provide necessary care if something goes wrong, even with the exception of “medical emergencies.”

In her first TV advert of the campaign, Craig shared that she had suffered a miscarriage and was able to “terminate my pregnancy unhindered”. New Hampshire’s 24-week ban clearly states that it does not apply to miscarriages. However, there have been reports of patients in other states being denied miscarriage care since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade picked up.

“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 instruct 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 comes 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 necessary health care,” she said when asked about the topic . “And if that was what I had to do, I would say yes.”

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

“We have found a compromise here. It gives women the freedom to have an abortion for up to six months,” she said in an interview with NHPR’s Morning Edition in August. “I respect that. I won’t change it. To be clear to your listeners: If someone sends me something more restrictive, I will veto it.”

Ayotte’s campaign did not make her available for an interview for this story. A campaign spokeswoman did not respond to written questions about how her government would enforce the 24-week ban or whether it would support introducing exceptions for rape and incest.

Ayotte’s U.S. Senate record as AG

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

“I need more pro-life women in the U.S. Senate to help me continue this fight to protect the sanctity of life and ensure 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 her election.

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

When asked by WMUR in April whether her views on abortion have changed since then, Ayotte said she sees the issue in New Hampshire as resolved.

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

Just this week, Ayotte also released her own campaign ad in which she shared that she, too, suffered a miscarriage in the third month of her pregnancy while her husband was stationed in the Middle East. She did not associate this experience with her stance on abortion, but rather used it as a signal of her support for fertility treatment.

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

Financing family planning

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

Since 2021, Republicans on the New Hampshire Executive Council have blocked those funds 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 executives have said they oppose money going to clinics like Planned Parenthood that also perform abortions, even though state audits have confirmed that no money is used for abortions.

Craig says she would restore funding to Planned Parenthood and other providers, although she would ultimately need approval from the Executive Board.

Ayotte, meanwhile, told the New Hampshire Bulletin last year that she would oppose restoring funding to Planned Parenthood because it is “the largest abortion provider in the country and also a type of political organization.”

Ayotte said she would direct the money to community health centers instead. But state health officials said they have been unable to find alternative providers for those services in much of the state.

Other Reproductive Health Plans

Craig has proposed a number of measures aimed at improving access to abortion and other reproductive health services in New Hampshire.

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

Craig also says she would create an office of reproductive health care within state government and appoint “pro-choice justices” to the state Supreme Court.

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

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

In a statement through a spokeswoman, Ayotte said that as governor she will prioritize women’s health in general.

“In the U.S. Senate, I fought for access to better cancer screenings for women, including 3D mammograms, over-the-counter contraception and stronger protections for pregnant women from workplace discrimination,” she said. “As governor, I will continue to fight for better health outcomes for women and ensure our community health centers have the resources they need to ensure a healthier future for everyone in New Hampshire.”

Ayotte has repeatedly stated that she supports access to fertility treatments such as 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 the question of what specific policies she would pursue.