Democrats propose New Hampshire abortion and reproductive health shield law
A group of Democratic state lawmakers are attempting to enact an abortion shield law in New Hampshire in an effort to protect those seeking reproductive health care in the state from out-of-state restrictions.
“We will continue fighting off attacks from those who want to strip away our bodily autonomy,” Sen. Debra Altschiller, a Stratham Democrat and the sponsor of the legislation, said at a press conference last week. “But we are also going on offense. We’re building fortress-level protections around the rights that we still have.”
If enacted, Senate Bill 551 — which is co-sponsored by every Democrat in the Senate as well as House Democratic leadership — would codify in state law “the fundamental right to reproductive health care,” which under the bill’s definition “includes, but is not limited to, all services, care, and products relating to pregnancy, assisted reproduction, contraception, pregnancy loss, or the termination of a pregnancy” that are already legal under state law. The bill would forbid any laws or regulations in New Hampshire preventing people from receiving these services. The right would apply to anyone “physically present in the state,” not just full-time residents.
The bill would also prohibit government officials or law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state investigations into abortions or health care protected by New Hampshire law. That includes sharing confidential communications or information regarding reproductive health care services with out-of-state agencies. Notably, it would make it illegal for New Hampshire to extradite people for prosecution of abortion-related laws in other states. It would also prohibit malpractice insurers from negatively citing providers for delivering reproductive health care.
https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2026/02/17/democrats-propose-new-hampshire-abortion-and-reproductive-health-shield-law/