O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
After Politico reported on the Supreme Court’s draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that has enshrined a woman’s right to control her body and her destiny for fifty years, Democrats in the New Hampshire State Senate proposed an amendment to codify abortion rights into state law. Codifying abortion rights has never been more critical, but when the time came to vote on the amendment, State Senate President and U.S. Senate candidate Chuck Morse was the deciding vote against its passage.
Chuck Morse’s opposition to codifying abortion rights is not surprising. Morse was the “key architect” and loudest advocate for the abortion ban bill that became law last summer. The bill’s lack of exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly was not by mistake, it was Morse’s intent. His abortion ban also included medically unnecessary, government-mandated, and physically invasive transvaginal ultrasounds for persons seeking abortions at any stage of pregnancy in addition to felony penalties for doctors of up to seven years in prison for performing safe abortions.
For years, there has been a bipartisan consensus in New Hampshire that reproductive rights are human rights. No longer with Chuck Morse. He dragged his caucus and his party to the right by pushing his extreme, anti-choice agenda — betraying the spirit of the Live Free or Die State. From the day the abortion ban was signed into law last summer, doctors, reproductive health care activists, and Granite Staters from both political parties urged the legislature to repeal the abortion ban in full. However, Morse willfully ignored the majority of Granite Staters who opposed the ban, bragging that “for the first time in decades” New Hampshire had an abortion ban and saying he “made no apologies” for the law he helped create and pass.
When Republicans in the State House made it clear they would not repeal the abortion ban in full, Granite Staters rightfully demanded that the legislature add exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal anomaly and remove the mandatory ultrasound requirement. When the State Senate voted on making those changes in February, Morse led the Republican majority to vote in opposition. In April, mothers and doctors delivered testimonies to the legislature about the devastating experience of discovering a fatal fetal anomaly late in pregnancy. After hearing their powerful stories, a bipartisan majority in the New Hampshire House and Senate voted for HB 1609 — adding an exception for a fatal fetal anomaly to the Republican abortion ban. This bill will also remove the ultrasound mandate from the abortion ban that was passed by Republicans and signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu last year. However, Chuck Morse again led a small minority of Republicans in voting against the bill.
Chuck Morse’s anti-choice record goes well beyond this past year. In 2017, Morse voted to deny state funds to health clinics like Planned Parenthood that provide abortion services. In 2016 and 2014, Morse voted against a buffer zone around reproductive health care facilities to protect the privacy of patients seeking care. In 2006, Morse voted to allow pharmacists to refuse to provide emergency contraception for Granite Staters based on moral or religious objections. That year, Morse also told an extreme, anti-choice organization that he opposed abortions even in cases of rape and incest and would vote to defund Planned Parenthood. Chuck Morse has made undermining Granite Staters’ fundamental reproductive rights a focal point of his legislative agenda. He has already undermined reproductive rights in New Hampshire more than any State House Republican in a generation. There is no doubt that he will try to do the same in Washington.
Chuck Morse has proven himself to be one of the most anti-choice Republicans in the state legislature, and as a U.S. Senator, he would be one of the most anti-choice Republicans in Washington. During an interview with WMUR in January, Morse was asked if he would vote to restrict abortion in the U.S. Senate. Morse said that he would “vote for [what] New Hampshire just passed,” making it clear that he would help Mitch McConnell and Republicans roll back reproductive rights that have taken New Hampshire women decades to win.
Whether or not Morse emerges from the Republican Senate primary, we know that he would be a rubber stamp for McConnell’s agenda. The choice could not be more clear: Senator Hassan has been a stalwart supporter and defender of Granite Staters’ reproductive rights. Chuck Morse, on the other hand, has made attacking reproductive rights the cornerstone of his time in elected office.
Beg to differ? Agree to disagree? This is the place – where all points of view are welcome, as long as you state your case and back it up. Civil discourse is a good thing. Send your submissions to publisher@manchesterinklink.com, subject line: The Soapbox.
