Restrictions

New Hampshire law prohibits prohibits abortion at twenty-four weeks LMP.^[1] H.B. 2, 2021 Reg. Sess. §§ 38-39 (N.H. 2021) (eff. Jan. 1, 2022). It also prohibits D&X procedures^[2]N.H. REV. STAT. § 329:34. and limits public funding for abortion.^[3]See NH Dept. of Health and Human Servs., Office of Medicaid & Business Policy, Medicaid State Plan Attachment 3.1-A: Amount, Duration and Scope of Medical and Remedial Care and Services Provided … Continue reading An ultrasound is required if a pregnancy is believed to be twenty-four weeks LMP.^[4] H.B. 1673, 2022 Reg. Sess. § 39 (N.H. 2022) (eff. May 20, 2022). The state generally requires that a parent or legal guardian be notified about a minor’s abortion before abortion care is provided;^[5]N.H. REV. STAT. § 132:33. alternatively, a judge can approve a minor’s petition without parental notification.^[6]Id. § 132:34.

New Hampshire’s targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws include requirements related to reporting D&X procedures in emergency situations and abortions performed beyond 24 weeks.^[7]Id. § 329:35; ; H.B. 2, 2021 Reg. Sess. § 39 (N.H. 2021) (eff. Jan. 1, 2022). New Hampshire prohibits nurse midwives from providing abortion care.^[8]N.H. CODE ADMIN. R. ANN. He-W 538.05. Providers who violate New Hampshire’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.^[9]See, e.g., N.H. REV. STAT. § 329:37; id. § 329:36.

State Protections

New Hampshire law does not include express constitutional or statutory protections for abortion. However, in 2018, New Hampshire voters approved an amendment to the New Hampshire Constitution that specifically recognized a privacy right related to private or personal information. Article 2-b of the Bill of Rights of the New Hampshire Constitution, which is titled “Right to Privacy,” states: “An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.”^[10]N.H. CONST. Pt. 1, Art. 2-b (effective on December 5, 2018). To date, the state supreme court has not determined whether this amendment includes the right to abortion. New Hampshire protects clinic safety and access through a buffer zone.^[11]N.H. REV. STAT. §§ 132:37, 132:38.

Post-Roe Prohibitions

New Hampshire repealed its pre-Roe ban in 1997.^[12]N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 585.12 et seq. (1955), repealed by 1997 N.H. Laws 81, ch. 99, §1.

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, abortion will remain accessible in New Hampshire but without legal protection. New Hampshire repealed a pre-Roe ban on abortion, but state law does not expressly protect abortion.