With Friday’s decision in Dobbs, the issue of abortion has now been returned entirely to the states. Despite what you may have heard, Granite Staters who oppose abortion should understand that, when it comes to abortion law, this decision changes nothing about our immediate situation in New Hampshire.
Early this year, Governor Sununu—despite his earlier promise to support a late-term abortion ban—unsuccessfully backed legislation which would have effectively destroyed our current six-month ban and returned New Hampshire to unlimited abortion up to birth. The Governor’s efforts to undermine these protections for the preborn nearly succeeded in the House.
In May, the Governor even used his veto power to protect anti-free speech “buffer zones” outside abortion clinics—even though he had promised in a signed letter that he would repeal the buffer zone law.
Recent polling shows that 62.2 percent of Granite Staters either support New Hampshire’s current six-month limit on abortion or want a more restrictive abortion ban. Yet the people’s views on abortion are, unfortunately, not at all reflected in the composition of our state government. In our state capitol, every Democrat and many Republicans now consistently vote to allow abortion for any reason until the moment of birth. Friday’s decision does nothing to change this unfortunate dynamic in New Hampshire.
This means that, in the area of state abortion law, our immediate priority must be consolidating our modest victories, repelling further attacks by Democrats and the Governor, and continuing the fight to protect children from being aborted weeks or days before birth.
Make no mistake, however: New Hampshire cannot be isolated from national politics. We expect Friday’s news will hasten political polarization around the country, including New Hampshire, and inflame the hateful totalitarianism which is threatening America’s constitutional order. We must also focus—more than ever—on the physical safety of pregnancy care centers and churches and, ultimately, on protecting the separation of powers and the rule of law. There is much work ahead.
However, despite the fact that the status of the pro-life in New Hampshire remains unchanged, Friday’s decision is a massive victory for the cause of the preborn. Because of the Supreme Court’s ruling, countless babies’ lives will be saved, and pro-life citizens across America now have a fighting chance to work to see state-sanctioned abortion ended in our nation. We give thanks to God for His great mercy in guiding the hearts of the six justices who voted to protect our country’s most vulnerable members.
