In the first week of the 2026 legislative session, New Hampshire lawmakers passed two bills that could alter abortion access in the state, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin. H.B. 232, which was passed by the state House on Jan. 8, enshrines the legal right of healthcare providers “to conscientiously object to participating” in an abortion. H.B. 191, which passed the state Senate on Jan. 7, seeks to criminalize aiding a minor in traveling to receive an abortion or any surgical procedure “without parental permission.”
H.B. 232, which has yet to pass the Senate, would allow medical professionals to sue their employers if they faced discrimination for refusing to give an abortion. In an interview with The Dartmouth, State Sen. Cindy Rosenwald, D-13, said that H.B. 232 will have a “chilling effect” on the nature of medical care in New Hampshire.
H.B. 232 “doesn’t just apply to the licensed medical professionals that are able to provide abortion care,” Rosenwald said. “Hospital housekeeping or medical staff can oppose the execution of an abortion, resulting in civil action.”
Dartmouth Conservatives president John Coleman ’26 said that he believes the bill would “protect” health care workers’ “freedom of conscience.”
“I think it represents a continued push by the Republican Party and Republicans in New Hampshire to respect people’s individual conscience and choices and to ensure that no one feels pressured to do something contrary to his or her religion because of the state law,” Coleman said.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, New Hampshire Right to Life president Jason Hennessey said the bill will protect healthcare providers who work at organizations that are “very pro-abortion in their advocacy.”
“You could see how it would be difficult for somebody to say no [to giving an abortion] without protections in the law like most states have,” he said.
When H.B. 191 first reached the House in 2025, it only prohibited assisting a minor in traveling for an abortion — not any surgical procedure. State representatives then amended the bill’s language to apply to any surgery, without naming abortion. When the legislation reached the Senate in early January, lawmakers amended the bill to its current form so that it pertains to “a surgical procedure or a termination of the minor’s pregnancy.” The House is set to vote on the newest version this session.
Dartmouth Democrats financial director Reece Sharp ’28 said she is “very much against” H.B. 191.
“Criminalizing transport of any person to help them reach an abortion appointment is frankly ridiculous and almost dystopian,” she said.
Hennessey, on the other hand, argued that the bill should not be controversial.
“If you think about it, a lot of states have a parental consent law for minors getting abortions,” he said. “So in terms of what that says about New Hampshire, I would say that we’re getting closer to the common viewpoint on issues like abortion.”
Rosenwald said that the Republican party “used to be [one] that valued individual choice,” but that it is now “a party that wants to make healthcare decisions about one of the most consequential bodily autonomy decisions for women.”
“I’m just really shocked,” she said.
