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New Hampshire Democrats are using abortion cases before the U. S. Supreme Court to renew their push for unrestricted abortion access in the Granite State.

“We are at a crisis moment for abortion rights: The threat to the constitutional right to an abortion has never been greater in our country. Six months from now, abortion could be illegal in half the country,” said Kayla Montgomery, vice president for public affairs at Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund.

The Supreme Court held oral arguments on Wednesday as it considers whether the state of Mississippi can ban abortion at 15 weeks. The court previously heard arguments on the Texas law banning abortion at six weeks, and a decision on that case is pending.

It’s possible the court could overturn either the 1992 Casey decision or the 1973 Roe decision, both of which restricted the right of voters to pass laws regulating abortion. Some court watchers believe they heard Chief Justice John Roberts suggest a way to leave the Mississippi law in place without overturning Roe.

A decision is expected in June.

Gov. Chris Sununu, a self-described pro-choice Republican who supports upholding Roe v. Wade, signed a 24-week abortion ban when he approved the state budget. The ban was forced into the budget bill by House conservatives who threatened to derail the legislation over the ban. He has since said he supports removing the requirement that all women seeking abortions be required to undergo an ultrasound first.

According to Cornerstone, a non-partisan, non-profit Christian advocacy organization, the description of the ultrasound as mandatory is inaccurate.

“Under the act, performing an abortion without an ultrasound will only be punished in one situation: where there is a “substantial risk” that the child is at least 24 weeks old. In any other circumstance, the provider can skip the ultrasound and face no penalties under the act,” the group says in a fact sheet on the new law.

Asked about the Mississippi case this week, Sununu told NHJournal he wasn’t paying attention to it and does not believe Roe will be overturned.

Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, said if the Supreme Court ends Roe, abortion in New Hampshire is still legal for the first six months. Chaffee and Montgomery stood with state lawmakers on Wednesday promising legislative action to make sure abortion stays legal no matter what happens in Washington.

“Unfortunately, it is no longer an option for us to count on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect our reproductive rights,” said state Sen. Rebecca Whitley, D-Contoocook. “Now is the time to take proactive action to protect abortion access in New Hampshire.”

Democrats want abortion rights codified in state law, and they are pushing to undo the 24-week ban and return to the policy of unrestricted legal abortion at any point in a pregnancy.

All the members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation came out in support of upholding Roe on Wednesday, as well as the federal effort to make sure abortion rights are protected from the Supreme Court. Rep. Chris Pappas said the Women’s Health Protection Act, supported by all members of the delegation, will codify Roe as federal law.

“We can no longer count on the Supreme Court to defend Roe and be the backstop as they have been – in this new era it’s up to us to fight back,” Pappas said.

Supporters of overturning Roe v. Wade have long argued that abortion should be regulated by the democratic process as Pappas suggests, not a court’s ruling.

Sen. Maggie Hassan called the Mississippi ban “extreme” and devastating for women.

“This is one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country and it would take us back to almost 50 years ago,” Hassan said.

Shannon McGinley, executive director of Cornerstone Action of New Hampshire, called out Democrats for equating New Hampshire’s 24-week ban with Mississippi’s law or the fetal heartbeat bill in Texas.

“The currently pending Supreme Court cases challenging abortion law in Mississippi and Texas are not going to have any legal effect on our law in New Hampshire,” McGinley said. “Our law prohibits abortion at six months, not 15 weeks (Mississippi) or six weeks (Texas). Those trying to link New Hampshire’s moderate law with these other states are ignoring the facts.”

Both major Supreme Court abortion decisions, Roe and Casey, allow for states to restrict abortion at some point in the pregnancy. Even those restrictions are considered loose compared to most developed countries, which set the limits at 12 to 15 weeks for elective abortions.

McGinley said Democrats are engaging in misinformation to push for complete, unrestricted access to abortion.

“Planned Parenthood’s position and messaging is predictable in its attempt to cynically sway public opinion,” she said. “With every elected branch of government in New Hampshire led by Republicans, not by Planned Parenthood, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to protect a law with absolutely no impediment to abortion access in those first six months, but that does balance that access with commonsense protections for the late-term pre-born.”

As COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise amid the cold-weather surge, Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday there are no plans to close schools due to the worsening pandemic.

“Kids really need to be in school. They want to be in school, and that’s the best place for their education,” Sununu said during his weekly COVID-19 press conference.

Many schools in the Granite State went to remote learning models around Thanksgiving because of the pandemic last year. The state announced Tuesday an average of 900 to 1,000 new cases of COVID-19, a 43 percent increase, and 21 deaths reported in the last week, stretching back to the Thanksgiving holiday. Sununu noted cases are also up in Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts as well.

“Like the rest of New England, we’re seeing the winter surge that we had always predicted, and it’s very severe,” Sununu said.

New Hampshire schools will also have the funds available for masks and cleaning supplies to keep students safe, Sununu said. In extreme cases, schools might need to opt for remote learning, but that will not be the rule as New Hampshire heads into the holidays and beyond, he said. 

Remote learning hurts kids when it comes to mental health and educational outcomes, data show. According to the CDC, nearly 25 percent of parents whose children received virtual instruction or combined instruction reported worsened mental or emotional health in their children, compared to 16 percent of parents whose children received in-person instruction. 

“Going remote can be so detrimental,” Sununu said. “We really want kids to be in schools.”

So far, no Granite Stater under the age of 19 has died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Sununu touted the recent court-ordered halt to President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds. New Hampshire was already experiencing a healthcare employee shortage before the pandemic, and he said many facilities in the Granite State faced forced closures if the mandate went into effect.

New Hampshire is involved in multiple lawsuits opposing Biden-backed mandates, and the current order is temporary pending more court action. Sununu has pledged to fight the mandates, though he continues promoting vaccination as a choice.

“We want everyone to get vaccinated. But if the vaccine mandate risks closing our nursing homes, it is a bad idea,” he said.

When asked about nursing home residents being cared for by unvaccinated nurses and staff, Sununu said he’d rather have an unvaccinated nurse than no nurse at all. Opponents of the mandate note medical professionals cared for COVID-19 patients for a year before the vaccines were available.

And a recent survey of 1,200 senior care providers by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) reported 99 percent of nursing homes and 96 percent of assisted living facilities said they didn’t have enough workers.

Sununu stressed the need for people to get vaccinated if they are able and for people eligible for a booster to get one. He plans to get his booster shot at the state’s Dec. 11 Booster Blitz, where vaccination sites will be operating at locations throughout the state.

A day after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen compared New Hampshire’s new late-abortion ban to an “authoritarian state,” leaders of Democrats for Life called her position “extreme” and her claims dishonest.

The four members of New Hampshire’s delegation held an online event in advance of Wednesday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. They decried New Hampshire’s new abortion law and warned of dire consequences if the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

“What we’re seeing in the ‘Live Free or Die’ state is unbelievable to me,” Shaheen said. “The attempt to have state control of our personal health really is what we would see in an authoritarian state. It’s not what we would expect in New Hampshire.”

“I think if you want to see a revolution, go ahead, outlaw Roe v. Wade and see what the response is,” Shaheen added.

Shaheen’s comment made national news as an indication, critics say, of pro-abortion extremism in the Democratic Party.

Democrats for Life President Monica Sparks addresses a crowd outside the DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2021.

Democrats for Life held a rally outside Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D. C. Tuesday, urging their party to move away from its extreme abortion-on-demand position and become more open to pro-life candidates.

“One in three Democrats are pro-life. That’s a lot of people. Why do you keep leaving us outside the big tent?” asked newly-elected DFL President Monica Sparks. “Shame on you, DNC!”

Asked about Shaheen’s statement, DFL Executive Director Kristen Day said she found it “interesting a U.S. Senator would completely misrepresent Roe v. Wade and the effects of overturning it. She knows better. She’s just trying to create a false narrative.”

Gov. Chris Sununu, a target of the New Hampshire congressional delegation’s criticism, was asked by NHJournal Wednesday if he’d take action to protect abortion rights if the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision. 

“I’m not really paying attention to that case,” Sununu said. “It’s not an overturn of Roe vs. Wade. It’s about viability.”

The Dobbs lawsuit concerns the new Mississippi law that restricts abortion after 15 weeks. According to Shannon Brewer, who runs the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, about 10 percent of the abortions the clinic performs take place after the fifteenth week of pregnancy.

The court is also considering the constitutionality of a Texas law that bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks.

Vice President of Public Affairs with Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund Kayla Montgomery said abortion rights are at stake whether Sununu is paying attention or not.

“To be clear, abortion rights are at stake at the Supreme Court. Reproductive health providers, advocates, and Granite Staters are paying attention to this case because we know it will determine the future of abortion access in our country. Without constitutional protections, abortion rights will be decided on a state-by-state basis,” Montgomery said.

Overturning Roe would have no impact on New Hampshire’s late-term abortion ban.

Jason Hennessey, president of New Hampshire’s Right to Life, said Sununu’s record on abortion has been mixed, though he does approve some of the governor’s actions.

“The governor did sign the fetal life protection act, and he signed a bill to protect state taxpayer money from going to abortion clinics,” Hennessey said. “This past year he’s done some good things … We would certainly like to see him take more of a leadership role, but he’s said he’s pro-choice.”

In a statement to the Portsmouth Herald, Sununu spokesperson Brandon Pratt said, “To be clear, he did not propose this legislative amendment. But as the governor has repeatedly said, he would not veto a $13 billion state budget over a change that would bring New Hampshire in line with 43 other states, and any claim that this is a radical restriction is just partisan politics.”

Most U.S. states, as well as most modern industrialized countries, reject Shaheen’s abortion-on-demand up to the day of birth position as extreme. According to recent polls, so do most American voters.

Gallup polling has consistently found more than 80 percent of Americans oppose abortions in the third trimester. And a new Marquette University poll found 37 percent of Americans favor upholding Mississippi’s 15-week limit, while just 32 percent oppose it.

The DFL’s Day said the Democratic Party’s pro-abortion stance is hurting it among voters in middle America, and statements like Shaheen’s aren’t helping.

“She’s just creating panic, unnecessary panic,” Day said. “What we really need to focus on is providing women with real choice.”

Damien Fisher contributed to this report. 

As first exclusively reported here at NHJournal, Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed two energy bills this morning that would have put upward pressure on energy prices in the Granite State.

“Senate Bills 365 and 446 combined would cost New Hampshire electric ratepayers approximately $100 million over the next three years,” Sununu said in his veto message.  “New Hampshire has some of the highest electric rates in the country, placing financial strain on the elderly, those on fixed incomes and the business community.  These bills send our state in exactly the wrong direction.”

SB 446 raises the limit on “net metering” of power from solar generators covered by a state buy-back mandate from one megawatt to five.  “While I agree that expanding net metering could be a benefit to our state, Senate Bill 446 would cost ratepayers at least $5 to 10 million annually and is a handout to large scale energy developers. These immense projects should use incentives already available and compete on their own merits,” Sununu said.

The other bill vetoed by Gov. Sununu Tuesday morning,  SB 365, requires utilities to buy the entire output from a group of older biomass generators at above-market rates. “It would cost New Hampshire ratepayers approximately $25 million a year over the next 3 years, on top of the subsidy for these plants that already became law last year through Senate Bill 129,” Gov. Sununu said.  “It harms our most vulnerable ratepayers and our job creators for the benefit of a select few.”

“Consistent with our state’s 10 Year Energy Strategy, I am committed to working to encourage and advance renewable energy generation and fuel diversity without unjustly burdening the ratepayers of New Hampshire,” Sununu said.

Given that both of these bills passed the New Hampshire legislature with large, bipartisan majorities,  there was some question about whether Gov. Sununu–who is up fo re-election this November–would veto them or let them become law without his signature.  For Republicans in states carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016 (like New Hampshire), the current political environment is challenging.  Vetoing bills with a green/progressive constituency carries risk, particularly given the political turmoil of the Trump era and its impact on the Republican Party’s standing.

At the same time, the Cook Political Report just revised their analysis of the NH Governor’s race from “Leans Republican” to Likely Republican.” Sununu is one of the five most popular governors in the US and he’s taken steps–like signing the transgender bill two weeks ago–to show he’s not a movement ideologue.  As Saint Anselm College political science professor Christopher Galdieri said when he signed the transgender rights bill, “He feels like he is comfortably ahead enough that he can afford to lose a few social conservative votes.”

By vetoing these energy-subsidy bills, Sununu is both advancing his administration’s pro-ratepayer approach to energy policy and reminding a traditional Republican constituency–businesses–that he’s an ally.

The only question remaining is what Sununu will do about a third bill, SB 577, which extends existing (and expensive) subsidies to the Burgess BioPower plant in Berlin. Unlike the other two subsidy bills, this one has a strong constituency of hundreds of jobs directly tied to the facility and powerful political interests like Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley.

Multiple sources close to the governor and familiar with his thinking believe Sununu will likely let SB 577 become law without his signature, as he did with last year’s expensive energy-subsidies bill, SB 129. This will placate the Burgess backers–the most passionate supporters of these bills–and make it less likely they will mount a successful veto override.

For opponents of “picking winners and losers,” as the Sununu administration’s 10-Year Energy Strategy puts it, these vetoes are two-thirds of a loaf. But after last year’s legislation and in the current political climate, free market energy advocates will take it.

After the passing of former First Lady Barbara Bush, members of the Sununu family expressed their admiration and condolences, including former Governor–and one-time Chief of Staff to her husband– John H. Sununu.

“She was always the rock of the Bush family. She was the one that they depended on to keep things connected. She will be missed not only by her loving family but by America and the world. Nancy and I extend our sympathy and prayers to the entire family,” Sununu told WMUR’s John DiStaso. Sununu also said he’d had dinner with Barbara and George H. W. just last month.

That’s interesting because Barbara Bush was no fan of Sununu’s during his chief of staff days and pushed for his ouster from her husband’s White House in 1991.

As the late Tim Russert put it in a speech in 1997:

“Legend has it” that John Sununu, after being forced to resign as White House chief of staff, had “approached the revered first lady and poured out this heart.” “Why do people take an instant dislike to me?” he wondered. And Barbara Bush, a la Dorothy Parker, zapped him with “Because, John, it saves time.”

According to the Washington Post, that joke is apocryphal, repeatedly re-used inside the Beltway.  Barbara Bush may never have said it.

Then again, from what we know of the former First Lady, maybe she did.