Abortion

New Hampshire Democrats: Women Don’t Need to “Sleep On” Their Decisions

A House panel disagrees that women need to "sleep on their decision" before terminating a pregnancy.

RelaxingMusic / flickr

The New Hampshire legislature has tried nearly every year for the last decade to slip an “informed consent” abortion restriction onto the books, and every time they have failed.

This year is no different. A House committee is recommending that the bill, which would also impose a forced 24-hour waiting period, be rejected by the full House, which is predominately Democratic.

Bill proponents were upset, declaring that the 24-hour wait wasn’t a restriction but actually a tool to help women make “informed decisions” about their medical choices. “An abortion is an elective procedure,” bill sponsor Rep. Lenette Peterson said during debate, according to the Concord Monitor.  “It’s just 24 hours. There’s no medical procedure that—unless it’s surgery, emergency surgery—that’s less than 24 hours. If it’s elective, there’s none that take place within 24 hours.” She then said she thought it would be best if women “slept on it” before they can access an abortion.

The bill was one of two abortion measures brought up on Valentines Day. NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire also used the holiday to encourage the legislature to show support for abortion rights by commemorating  Roe v. Wade.