Before I was elected to Congress in 2012, I was an adoption attorney for 25 years. I’ve sat with hundreds of birth mothers making the most difficult, private, consequential decision of their lifetime.
In America, the government should not have a role in this most personal choice.
I support the long-standing New Hampshire tradition of less governmental interference in people’s personal lives.
Across the United States, the reproductive rights of women are under attack. Far-right extremists are hell-bent on turning back the clock on the hard-fought progress we have made. Let me be clear – the government has no place coming between a woman and her doctor when considering her most personal and private health care decisions.
Unfortunately, President Trump and his far-right allies in the U.S. Senate have hijacked our federal courts and filled vacancies with extremist judges who will chip away at our reproductive freedoms brick by brick. Their ultimate goal is to overturn Roe v. Wade and upend close to 50 years of settled law regarding privacy rights.
It’s now more important than ever to ensure that the reproductive rights of women are protected by state courts in New Hampshire, because we just can’t trust President Trump’s extremist judges.
That’s why it was so crucial that last year the Executive Council rejected Gov. Chris Sununu’s far-right anti-choice nominee for chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, Gordon MacDonald. The Executive Council is that last line of defense in New Hampshire against Sununu’s anti-choice judicial picks.
We need an Executive Council that will stand up for reproductive rights in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, one candidate in the Democratic primary for the Executive Council seat representing District 2 cannot be trusted to uphold these critical protections.
Jay Surdukowski lobbied for the confirmation of anti-choice Gordon MacDonald and has now doubled down on his support for this far-right nominee. This you can count on – if Jay Surdukowski is on the Executive Council: Women’s autonomy and reproductive rights will be threatened.
We need to defend women’s autonomy and reproductive rights in New Hampshire. As the saying goes, “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you may be on the menu.” That’s why I created my “A Seat at the Table” initiative (www.kusterforcongress.com/ASATT) to support strong, pro-choice women candidates in races across the Granite State.
We have two great women on the Democratic primary ballot who will fight for reproductive rights on the Executive Council running in District 2. I urge you to consider the future of women’s rights and autonomy in New Hampshire when you cast your primary ballot on (or before) Sept. 8.
(Annie Kuster represents the 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.)