CONCORD, N.H. -- Reproductive-health advocates are calling on Gov. Chris Sununu to meet with them about the ban on abortions after 24 weeks, which is currently in both the Senate and House versions of the state budget.

A coalition of groups held a demonstration outside the State House before delivering a letter to the governor, requesting he join a forum at a time and place of his choosing, before he signs the budget into law.

Josie Pinto, co-founder and executive director of the Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire, which helps patients struggling to access an abortion get the funds they need, said the budget is not the place to pass an abortion ban.

"I just think that this law is one more barrier that's going to stand between a person and potentially life-saving medical care, and it just should not be on a politician to make that decision," Pinto argued. "That is a decision that needs to be between the doctor and a patient, so that's why we want to talk to him."

Pinto added abortions after 24 weeks are extremely rare, difficult to get and costly. She noted one call the fund received was for a 24-week abortion, and the quoted price was $8,800.

Dr. Nick Perencevich, a retired surgeon from Boston, shared his experience at the State House event as a physician training in the 1970s, tending to patients who were suffering complications from unsafe abortions that were not legal before Roe v. Wade.

"Criminalization does not stop abortions," Perencevich asserted. "They're going to happen. They're just going to happen in a very unsafe environment. The abortions go away with good family planning, not with restrictive legislation that penalizes doctors and patients."

Pinto added a majority of Granite Staters support access to abortion. More than 65% of New Hampshire residents believe it should be legal in all or most cases.

"I think, unfortunately, a lot of people don't know that this is happening right now, and I think if they did we would see a lot more vocal opposition," Pinto contended. "So I'm really just trying to educate people that this is happening, and through our state budget, of all things."

Within hours of the start of Florida's legislative session, newly filed bills are set to test the limits on hot-button topics such as abortion and free speech.

Florida's new 15-week abortion ban has yet to be implemented due to litigation, but state Rep. David Borrero, R-Sweetwater, has filed H.B. 1519, which would prohibit any person or entity from purposely performing or attempting to perform an abortion.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, took to social media to express her outrage, calling the move "cruel for the sake of being cruel."

"It is a total abortion ban that eliminates what were already narrow exceptions for rape or incest and also goes further into criminalizing individuals or entities that provide medication abortion by mail, " she implored.

The news comes as a state constitutional amendment that would protect abortion access in Florida received enough signatures of support to appear on ballots in the November election. However, a challenge by the state's attorney general could still block it, claiming the language is misleading.

Another newly filed measure, S.B. 1780, by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, would make it easier for an individual to sue another person for defamation.

Eskamani sees the measure as an attempt to create a penalty for an opinion one doesn't like, which she believes is a slippery slope that could lead to criminalization.

"As long as you're not directly threatening me, there really is not a path forward that I can pursue," Eskamani explained, "and I'm OK with that because I should not be punishing people for expressing a viewpoint I don't like. I don't have to agree with it."

For a successful defamation case, one has to prove "actual malice." A defendant found liable for defamation could be fined at least $35,000. The bill also removes bedrock journalistic privileges, particularly the right to keep sources anonymous. Statements from anonymous sources would be considered "presumptively false," making journalists reporting on discrimination vulnerable to lawsuits.

Tuesday is the final day for lawmakers to file bills, and the legislative session wraps up in early March.


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January is Cervical Health Awareness Month and health experts said they are concerned about the growing number of cervical cancer diagnoses nationwide.

Kentucky already has the highest rate of cervical cancer in the U.S., with the state's Appalachian region having cases at twice the national rate.

Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood in Kentucky, said cervical cancer takes years to develop, and can be prevented easily with regular screenings for early detection and with the HPV vaccine. Middle-aged patients who missed early detection are at highest risk.

"Older women are more vulnerable," Gibran explained. "I think the reason is this age group in particular may not have received the recommended number of screening tests with normal results before they stopped having Pap smears."

Studies have shown women ages 40-44 who live in the south are less likely to be vaccinated against HPV or screened for cervical cancer, and also comprise the demographic who did not have access to the vaccine during adolescence. The American Cancer Society estimated in 2023, more than 4,000 women died from cervical cancer nationwide.

Infection with HPV is the single greatest risk factor for cervical cancer. It is estimated more than 90% of cervical cancer cases are caused by HPV each year. Gibron encouraged Kentuckians to prioritize their reproductive health in the new year. She added regional Planned Parenthood Health Centers offer PAP exams and more.

"We often are the only provider of affordable reproductive health care or the only provider that offers specialized care," Gibron pointed out. "We want folks to take control of their health care and get their annual wellness visit, get their HPV test, young people get your HPV vaccine."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the HPV vaccine for children ages 11 and 12, but adults up to age 45 can also receive their shot. Condom use has been shown to help lower the chances of spreading HPV.


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As the United States Supreme Court decides whether the abortion pill is safe, some legal scholars predict the decision may backfire on anti-abortion advocates.

The case paving the way for the nation's highest court to get involved does not focus on abortion access, but rather the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's process to approve drugs.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled last summer that mifepristone can stay on shelves where it is legal. However, the appeals court decided FDA changes making easier access to the drug failed to follow proper procedure.

Indiana University Law Professor Jody Madeira isn't surprised the high court picked up the case and predicts it might not have the result anti-abortion proponents expect.

"And I do think that it might end up, in a surprising way, protecting abortion rights," Madeira said. "The Supreme Court has been sort of on a trend where it's been narrowing agency rights. But here, the right the FDA has is to judge whether mifepristone is safe."

Madeira posed this question: If courts start deciding drug safety, then what becomes the incentive for pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs and treatments?

A final decision on mifepristone use is expected by the end of June.

Another obstacle women and girls face is finding doctors comfortable with the ambiguity of new laws restricting abortion. In many cases, according to Madeira, patients cannot find care because doctors don't want to risk losing their medical license.

"State authorities will go to great lengths to persecute and prosecute doctors who even speak to the media about performing and abortion," Madeira stressed. "Dr. Caitlin Bernard and our attorney general, Todd Rokita, is the perfect example. Certainly, doctors have a right to feel very wary and reluctant."

Drug companies and the FDA say mifepristone is safe and has lower risks than such common drugs as Tylenol and Viagra.




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