In wake of New Hampshire budget restrictions, Shaheen seeks more federal funding for reproductive services
(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is seeking more federal support for women’s reproductive services in New Hampshire, following passage of new abortion restrictions she says also cut funding for family planning.
The Democrat sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the Biden administration to dedicate more federal resources to help support New Hampshire family planning clinics due to a gap in grant funding.
Shaheen said the federal support is “critically needed” to bridge a gap in funding until the Biden administration finalizes its reversal of a Trump policy that forbid providers who perform abortions from receiving federal funding through the Title X program to cover services such as contraception.
“Such a gap in funding would impose financial stress on the affected health centers and endanger access to health care for the more than 16,000 women in New Hampshire who rely on these providers for contraception, cervical cancer screenings, breast cancer screenings and reproductive health services,” Shaheen wrote.
Shaheen said New Hampshire’s newly approved abortion restrictions have made the situation even more dire for many women’s health providers.
The new restrictions, which were pushed through by the GOP-controlled Legislature as part of the state budget, prohibit doctors from performing abortions after the 24th week – the beginning of the third trimester – including in cases of fetal health, rape or incest. The measure provides exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.
Republican lawmakers who supported the measure say the move puts New Hampshire among a majority of states that restrict abortions at or before 24 weeks. Critics say the move will jeopardize women’s’ reproductive health services and result in an exodus of physicians who fear being hit with criminal charges for violating the new rules.
But Shaheen said another major concern for her was that the budget signed Friday by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu “grossly underfunds” the state’s Family Planning Program and includes “unnecessary and time consuming audits” that could result in providers pulling out of the program.
“To help overcome this funding gap and protect access to care for Granite Staters, I strongly urge you to work with me and the affected providers in my state to help find an interim funding solution,” she wrote to Becerra.
On Friday, she participated in a livestreamed roundtable discussion where she ripped into the Republican-controlled Legislature’s efforts to tighten the state’s abortion restrictions.
“Their assault on women’s health is a despicable reminder about what is at stake for women’s health care and how urgent it is to provide family planning clinics and programs with the resources they need to help our community members, now more than ever before,” Shaheen said.
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