After Promising Not to Restrict Abortion, New Hampshire GOP Intros ‘Abortion Trafficking’ Bill
The Republican behind the bill, which would establish criminal and civil penalties for “recruitment, harboring, or transporting” a minor to have an abortion without parental permission, called it a precautionary measure.
Photo: Getty Images AbortionPolitics
Over the course of her 2024 campaign, Republican Kelly Ayotte pledged that, if elected governor of New Hampshire, she wouldn’t legislate to restrict abortion access. Republican leaders in the legislature made similar promises. Of course, Ayotte’s own record in the U.S. Senate includes introducing a national abortion ban. Nevertheless, enough New Hampshire voters seemed to take Ayotte and the GOP at their word, handing them the governor’s office and both chambers of the legislature.
Fast forward to this week. Ahead of the 2025 legislative session, New Hampshire Republicans have filed not one but three anti-abortion bills — including one to criminalize so-called “abortion trafficking,” which is just a thinly veiled attack on abortion-related travel and young people’s access to the procedure. State Rep. Glenn Cordelli (R) filed the bill to establish criminal and civil penalties for “recruitment, harboring, or transporting” a minor to have an abortion without parental permission. Tennessee and Idaho have previously passed nearly identical laws. Just this week, a court ruled that parts of Idaho’s law — specifically the “harboring” and “transporting” a minor parts — can take effect, while Tennessee’s remains temporarily blocked in court.
Cordelli took a page from anti-abortion activists across the country and suggested the bill isn’t even about abortion but rather, “parental rights.” He told the New Hampshire Bulletin, “I view it as more of a parental rights issue, not an abortion issue. A parent has the right to know what’s going on. I’ve even heard it being termed ‘kidnapping.’” The invocation of parents’ supposed, inalienable rights to control their children’s bodies has similarly become Republicans’ main line of attack against gender-affirming care for trans youth.
Katie Baylie, an attorney at the reproductive justice legal organization If/When/How who works with young people, called the bill “a disgusting attempt to criminalize abortion support and sow fear amongst young people seeking abortion and those who support them” in a statement shared with Jezebel. “Young people already have to navigate a complex web of challenges when seeking abortion. Forcing young people to get an abortion without the support of their family and trusted network is cruel.”