Know Your Rights Guide: Reproductive Care in New Hampshire
The Supreme Court’s unprecedented, dangerous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has left millions of women and people seeking abortions with fewer rights and less access to essential health care. It can be challenging and confusing to navigate how and where to get access to essential family planning services.
Amid concerning reports of patients experiencing difficulties in accessing the care they need, it’s important that Granite Staters know their rights and have access to resources.
Abortions are still safe and legal in New Hampshire. Here are the facts:
- Granite Staters can still schedule an abortion up to 24 weeks in most cases.
- There are exceptions for abortions after 24 weeks when the life of the parent is in danger or in cases of fatal fetal anomalies.
- In response to public outcry, the ultrasound mandate for abortions was reversed and is no longer in effect.
- For patients under 18 seeking an abortion in New Hampshire, parental notification is required 48 hours before an abortion. A judge can overrule that requirement.
There are family planning providers across the state who perform abortion procedures.
You can use the search engine on Reproductive Equity Now (a Massachusetts-based organization) to type in your zip code and find the closest abortion care provider to you in New England.
There are organizations helping patients find financial support and access transportation resources for abortion care.
- The Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire provides funding for pregnant patients residing in New Hampshire to access family planning services. You can call their hotline at 603-375-9078.
- Note: For Granite Staters with insurance through Medicaid, New Hampshire Healthy Families or Wellsense, abortions are covered only if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or if the life of the pregnant person is endangered if the pregnancy continues.
Know your rights around access to care and health insurance coverage.
Most public and private health insurance covers the costs of family planning counseling, birth control and other preventative services. That includes:
- Birth control pills, IUDs, emergency contraception like Plan B, sterilization procedures and patient education. More information on coverage requirements is available here.
- Wellness visits including pap smears and breast exams, prenatal care, breast and cervical cancer screenings, STI counseling, interpersonal violence screenings and more.
- Additionally, hospitals are required to provide emergency medical care, including abortion care, necessary to save a patient’s life. More information on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act here.
Beware of “Crisis Pregnancy Centers" that masquerade as health care clinics but don’t perform abortions.
These fake clinics often offer free pregnancy tests or free ultrasounds, but the services are not performed by doctors and they use misinformation and fear to convince patients not to choose an abortion. These types of centers often have the words "pregnancy center" in their name. There are a number throughout New Hampshire and they do not provide unbiased care.
This tool from Reproductive Equity Now helps identify fraudulent pregnancy crisis centers.
There are legal resources available for patients who feel their rights have been infringed upon.
If you believe that your civil rights or health information privacy rights have been violated – including discriminatory restrictions on access to health care – you’re not alone. You can file a complaint with HHS here, which helps enforce federal civil rights laws around health care. You can also file a HIPAA complaint here if you believe your private medical information has been violated.
The Biden administration is also working tirelessly to shore up access to abortion services.
The Justice Department recently launched the Reproductive Rights Task Force, which will evaluate and rectify state and local legislation that infringes on federal legal protections and impairs access to reproductive care in states where it is legal. More information on that task force here.
The President issued an executive order requiring a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the best ways to protect access to medication abortion, preserve access to contraception, ensure emergency medical care for pregnant people, launch public outreach efforts on accurate information and convene volunteer lawyers to encourage robust legal representation for patients and providers. That report will be submitted to the President next month – more information is available here.
My office is here to help.
I’ve long been an unrelenting advocate for reproductive freedom in New Hampshire. From sounding the alarm about the need to codify Roe v. Wade to fighting to expand coverage of women’s preventative care and supporting family planning providers, you have a fighter in me. You can contact my office here for help and resources.
The bottom line:
Granite Staters deserve access to the full spectrum of reproductive care. Know the facts so you can make an empowered decision that’s best for you and your family.