Roe v. Wade Overturned: New Hampshire Lawmakers React

The Supreme Court is overturning Roe v. Wade, the decades-old decision which legalized abortion nationwide.  Friday’s decision is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

Here is how members of the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation and state leaders are reacting to the landmark decision:

Governor Chris Sununu releasing a statement saying, “Regardless of this Supreme Court decision, access to these services will continue to remain safe, accessible, and legal in New Hampshire.”

Congressman Chris Pappas saying in part, “This decision is a devastating blow against the health, well-being, and personal freedom of women in New Hampshire and all across our country. For nearly 50 years the right of women to make their own medical decisions has been the law of the land, and today a radical majority on the Supreme Court decision ripped that right away by opening the door for states to enact draconian laws limiting access to abortion and reproductive health care.”

Congresswoman Annie Kuster releasing this statement after the Supreme Court of the United States voted to overturn the near-50 year precedent of Roe v. Wade and end federal protection of abortion access for millions of women across the country:  “I am devastated, but not surprised by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. A generation of women came to rely on the fundamental right to make their own personal reproductive decisions, and all of that progress ends today. This ruling will have an immediate, detrimental impact on women and their health, autonomy, and freedom across our country.”

Senator Maggie Hassan saying, “Today, the Supreme Court – enabled by politicians who have spent years stacking the Court with radical and extremist justices – has decided to take away a woman’s most fundamental freedom: her bodily autonomy. And in doing so, the Court pulled women — and our country—backwards to a time when women were second-class citizens. Women have both the capacity and the conscience to make difficult and complicated decisions about their health and their lives. That a majority of the Supreme Court disagrees with that proposition is deeply disturbing. This decision will have a profound impact on women, the economy, and our democracy. The Court’s determination that half of the country’s population – women — should be denied full and equal citizenship goes against our country’s values”.

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen slamming the decision, “This is a dark day for our country. Like millions of Americans who awoke to a terrifying new reality today, I am gutted by the Supreme Court’s decision to turn back 50 years of precedent by overturning Roe v. Wade. My heart breaks for mothers and grandmothers who marched and fought to secure this watershed achievement, and for the girls who now face a grim future without access to life-saving health care and fewer fundamental rights. The highest court in the land failed half of the country today.” She went on to say, “Make no mistake: this decision jeopardizes women’s lives”.