MANCHESTER, N.H. – With abortion becoming an increasingly important topic to voters following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year to overturn Roe v. Wade, U.S. Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH-01) gathered a reproductive rights round table at Stark Park on Wednesday morning.
Pappas framed the court’s action, coming from their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, as a fundamental attack on personal freedoms and as a “race to the bottom” where many women will see their rights determined by politicians with “government mandated pregnancies” in some states and others may die in some circumstances due to lack of access to an abortion.
Other initiatives in some states, such as legislation trying to prohibit women from travelling over state lines to obtain an abortion, he described as Orwellian and out-of-touch with the views of New Hampshire residents, who he says supports a woman’s right to choose.
With that, Pappas noted that this November’s election will take on added importance for women with the protection of Roe v. Wade gone, and that without federal abortion protections, extremists in the Republican Party will continue to attack women’s rights and misrepresent what he sees as the true values of Granite Staters.
“This used to be an issue that brought Democrats and Republicans together in New Hampshire. I think it’s much less of a political issue. We actually get out there and talk to people because it’s a personal issue, it’s a family issue, it’s an economic issue,” he said.
Pappas says he has talked to many conservatives who believe it should not be the government’s role to dictate what someone does with their body, also opposing the concept of vaccine mandates. However, while he respects the viewpoints of all sides in the topic, he reiterated his belief that Roe v. Wade protected individual rights for 50 years and had to be codified into law.
“I think (abortion) is a private personal choice that individuals and what codifying Roe at the federal level would do is ensure that people have access to care they need early on in a pregnancy,” he said. “Just to upend (Roe) really threatens people’s personal freedoms and individual rights. Clearly, we need to respect everyone’s viewpoints, but this is an attempt by a very radical political minority to impose their will on the rest of us.”
Pappas was joined by Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington (D-Concord), State Senator and Executive Council candidate Kevin Cavanaugh (D-Manchester), State Representative Patty Cornell (D-Manchester) and Manchester resident Anne Ketterer, all of whom echoed Pappas’ sentiments, adding additional attacks on the outgoing New Hampshire Executive Council and New Hampshire General Court and their direct and indirect attacks on abortion access.
Ketterer also echoed Pappas’ view that the topic of abortion is much more nuanced for most people than what is portrayed at the national level and attacked Matt Mowers, one of the Republicans seeking to supplant Pappas in November.
“What frustrates me is the discussion around abortion, the topic has become extreme. When people talk about abortion, they are for it or against it and are referencing stories in the news that are extreme and profoundly sad,” she said. “One in three woman seek abortions for their own. It is not your business, it is not my business, it is not Matt Mowers’ business to ask why they seek an abortion and it needs to stay that way.”
