Julia Williams lives in Hopkinton. She is the daughter of former Governor John Lynch.
I am angry. I am frustrated. I am disgusted. As a new mother of an 8-month-old daughter, I love looking at her and imagining all the things she is going to be and the person she will become. I love to imagine the world she will be living in and all the opportunities she will have. But in recent weeks, I have been downright terrified to think that she might not have the same rights and opportunities that I had and that women currently have.
We cannot sit back and watch as women’s rights, and the next generation’s rights, become threatened.
When the draft Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision was leaked, my anger reached a new level. This decision would overturn Roe v. Wade, dismantle constitutional protections for abortion rights, and give politicians at the state level the ability to determine the future of abortion access.
If this draft decision stands, 26 states are poised to quickly move to restrict access, meaning 36 million women could no longer be able to get abortion care in their state. A woman’s rights and her access to health care should not depend on her zip code.
The blanket bans and added barriers to care that are soon to crop up will have a devastating impact on people who need abortion care, especially those in marginalized communities. These draconian laws will also harm women with wanted pregnancies who experience miscarriage or find out their baby will not be able to survive outside their womb.
All of these women deserve medical options and our support, not shame, not stigma, and certainly not arbitrary state laws. Every pregnancy is unique and no person, no politician, should ever put themselves in the driver’s seat of someone else’s life. A heavy decision like this should be made between the woman and her doctor. How can we possibly understand their circumstances and tell them what is best for their lives?
I am fighting for a world for my daughter where every woman has the right to access the health care they need, safely, legally, and in a supportive environment.
While anti-abortion extremists are chomping at the bit to further erode women’s rights, their hypocrisy has been on full display. Just last week, there were 192 House representatives who voted against providing aid to the FDA to address the shortage of baby formula. Most of these elected officials also voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Also last week, many of the same politicians at the New Hampshire State House that pushed through New Hampshire’s first abortion ban in modern history also shut down efforts to provide healthy food for vulnerable infants, children, and women and rejected an attempt to expand access to postpartum care to keep new moms healthy.
If the fight over abortion was truly about babies, those who identify as “pro-life” would be leading efforts to address the formula shortage, give children healthy food, and ensure new moms have health care. But this political fight has never been about children. Instead, it is entirely about government control of women’s bodies and their lives.
The health and wellbeing of future generations of Granite Staters and Americans depend upon what we do next, as a state and as a nation.
To our elected officials: I challenge you to listen to your constituents and to think about all constituents before making these important decisions. I don’t just mean thinking about the voters with the loudest voice, the deepest pockets, and the same party affiliations.
I challenge you to listen to the 5-year-old girl who is out marching with her mother to defend her rights. Listen to the mom struggling to feed her child. Listen to the loving families who are sharing their stories of making the decision to have an abortion.
To my fellow New Hampshire voters: I hope you will join me not only to listen to what our elected officials and candidates say they believe about women’s rights and access to abortion but also to watch what they do when they think no one is watching.
In this crisis moment, lip service is simply not enough. We need representatives at every level of government who act resolutely to protect access to the full range of reproductive health care.