PPNNE Action Fund & NARAL Ask NH’s Stephen “How much time should she do?”
Leaders from two pro-choice groups, NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Action Fund NH PAC, gathered today to demand of John Stephen: What would the criminal penalties be for a woman under a Stephen Abortion Ban?
“If abortion becomes illegal, the woman having one will be a criminal. We want to know from John Stephen: How much time should she do?“ said Pilar Olivo, Interim Executive Director for NARAL Pro-Choice NH.
PPNNE Public Affairs Dir. Kary Jencks, with the letter delivered to Mr. Stephen's campaign headquarters posing the pressing question, "How much time should she do?"
Gubnatorial candidate Stephen was not available, but his surprised campaign manager, Liz Christoffersen, received the letter to pass on to Mr. Stephen.
Voters face a stark choice in this election. John Lynch supports abortion rights. John Stephen has said in his current gubernatorial campaign, as in his past campaigns, that all abortions should be illegal, even in the case of rape or incest.
“Most women having abortions are not victims of a crime, but are already mothers. If John Stephen were to make abortion illegal and I needed an abortion, how long would John Stephen separate me from my son?” said Emma Sisti, advisory member of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Action Fund NH PAC.
John Stephen has not detailed what penalties a Stephen Abortion Ban would include.
“Every day I help women and families make difficult and personal decisions, sometimes under the worst of circumstances. John Stephen wants to make abortion illegal. Who will provide high-quality reproductive health care to women if John Stephen puts the good doctors and nurses in jail for providing abortions to women who need them?” said Caren Kachoris, a nurse practitioner for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
More than 20 states either have pre-Roe criminal statutes still in place or have enacted more recent abortion bans, anticipating the real possibility the U.S. Supreme court could overturn Roe v. Wade and return regulation of abortion to the states, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
In 1997, New Hampshire repealed its statutes, dating from 1848, that criminalized abortion. Governor Judd Gregg vetoed the repeal three times before Governor Jeanne Shaheen signed the law.
“It’s been 13 years since we repealed New Hampshire’s old criminal statutes. New Hampshire women don’t need John Stephen to take them backward,” said Liz Hager, chair of NARAL Pro-Choice NH PAC and a leader of the repeal efforts.
New Hampshire voters overwhelmingly believe that government should stay out of private medical decisions. Since John Stephen disagrees with the majority of NH voters, we’d like him to tell us: How much time a woman should do?” said Olivo.