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.

By Kylie Cheung | December 5, 2024 | 4:47pm

Photo: Getty Images Abortion Politics

After Promising Not to Restrict Abortion, New Hampshire GOP Intros ‘Abortion Trafficking’ Bill

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.

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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.”

“A majority of young people do decide to include their parents in their decision to end a pregnancy,” Baylie continued. “Those who don’t do so for reasons rooted in their own safety and well-being. Research shows that young people are good predictors of the outcome of involving a parent they would otherwise choose not to involve.”

Abortion remains legal in New Hampshire, though it’s the last state in New England that hasn’t codified a right to abortion in the state Constitution. Under state law, abortion is legal through 24 weeks of pregnancy, at which point, it’s only permitted for certain emergencies.

While Cordelli couldn’t cite any known case of an adult transporting a minor who isn’t their child to access abortion care, he told the outlet his bill is a precautionary measure. In April, a New Hampshire private school teacher was fired and had their license suspended for driving their 18-year-old student to an abortion clinic without parental permission; the teacher sued and had her credentials restored.

New Hampshire Republicans also filed a bill that will require public schools to show students anti-abortion propaganda videos. Earlier this year, a wave of states including Iowa, Kentucky, West Virginia, and North Dakota introduced similar bills, which would force public schools to show students videos from a top anti-abortion organization, which dangerously misrepresent what embryos and fetuses look like at different stages of pregnancy. State Rep. John Sellers (R) told the Bulletin, “I’m trying to protect the kids and trying to get them more educated on not only the value of life, but also, you know, if you’re going to do an abortion, this is what it is.” Like the “abortion trafficking” bill, both of these bills target minors with misinformation while obstructing their access to abortion.

Another lawmaker filed a nebulous bill that says it will impose “restrictions on elective abortion,” without detailing specifics. The lawmaker who filed it told the Bulletin the bill “will allow late-term abortion when the pregnancy poses any risk to the mother’s health or there is a fatal fetal abnormality,” but declined to specify how this would differ from current state law. Sellers, meanwhile, told the outlet he’s interested in banning abortion at 15 weeks, or even six weeks.

Ayotte’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this slew of anti-abortion bills, or how she’ll approach them should they pass and come to her desk.

Just a month ago, Ayotte and New Hampshire Republicans were calling Democrats and reproductive rights advocates conspiracy theorists for warning that Republicans would wreak havoc if elected. Predictably, Republicans lied.