A New Hampshire Democrat cradled her week-old daughter while defending a proposed state constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights up to 24 weeks and allow the procedure beyond that when deemed medically necessary.
"I stand here today as one of the millions of people who has had an abortion. When I was a teenager, I accessed abortion care that has allowed me to go to college, to graduate school, to receive an M.Ed., to teach, and to be a state representative," the amendment's sponsor, Rep. Amanda Toll, D-Keene, said during a floor debate last week.
"It allowed me to have my children when I was ready, both physically and emotionally, including the baby girl I gave birth to just last week," she continued.
NEW HAMPSHIRE REJECTS FURTHER EXPANSION, RESTRICTION OF ABORTION ACCESS
Toll said that having her third child "reinvigorated" her commitment to making sure everyone in the Granite State, including her daughter, has the right to "make their own reproductive decisions."
"I want my kids to have the right to self-determination in these decisions. I want Granite Staters to know that their reproductive decisions are their own, and I want voters to weigh in on this important issue," she added.
New Hampshire currently bans abortions after 24 weeks, with exceptions for endangerment to the mother's life or fetal anomalies, according to the Associated Press.
The state's House of Representatives voted 193-184 in favor of moving forward with enshrining reproductive rights in the state constitution, but it failed to reach the majority required for advancement.
The outlet noted that changes to the state constitution requires three-fifths of the legislature to agree to put the measure to voters. Two-thirds of voters must then approve the change.
Since the Supreme Court reversed the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade in 2022, reproductive rights have remained a hot-button issue across the nation as states seek to either crack down on abortions or preserve access to them.
"Granite Staters should not have their reproductive rights on the line every legislative session with bills seeking to ban abortion earlier and earlier in pregnancy," Toll said.
"Because while abortion is currently safe and legal here, we have zero state or federal protections in place for abortion rights in New Hampshire."
New Hampshire's legislature also struck down other abortion-related measures, including a bill that would have banned abortions after 15 days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
