New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan says access to reproductive health should be one of the biggest issues driving voters to the polls this election.
The Granite State democrat says because she believes it is so important, she is sharing her personal story of loss, a miscarriage she suffered some 30 years ago.
“It was just really, really hard. I felt like a failure,” Hassan told Boston 25 News anchor, Kerry Kavanaugh.
It was the fall of 1991.
“The radiologist came back after the ultrasound and said- I’m sorry there’s no fetal heartbeat and it looks like the fetus stopped growing about two weeks ago,” Hassan said. “I had a procedure called a D&C (dilation and curettage). This is a common procedure used after a miscarriage to expel any fetal tissue that the body did not expel. In my case, that was all of it.”
It’s also a procedure used in abortions. Hassan says she worries, right now, not every woman has access to the healthcare she received decades ago.
“I think back now to that moment, that procedure and I think- what would it have been like if I needed the procedure when an abortion ban said I couldn’t have it,” Hassan said. “Or, I could only have it under certain circumstances. Would my doctor have to have been on the phone with a hospital lawyer asking to do the procedure that she knew was important for my health?”
Hassan is not running for office this cycle. But she has been out on the campaign trail stumping for the Harris-Walz ticket and New Hampshire’s Democratic nominee for Governor, Joyce Craig.
On her campaign website, Craig says she wants to codify abortion rights into New Hampshire law.
New Hampshire is the only New England state without a law guaranteeing access to abortion.
Republican candidate for Governor of New Hampshire, Kelly Ayotte is also sharing a story of personal loss, a miscarriage.
“I felt so alone because my husband was deployed to the Middle East,” she said in a political ad. “I know what it feels like to have your dreams shattered and you think ‘Wow, what if I can’t have a baby?’”
In sharing her story, Ayotte vowed to support access to fertility treatments like IVF (in vitro fertilization).
New Hampshire restricts abortion after 24 weeks, making some medical exceptions. Ayotte has said during the campaign she supports the New Hampshire law.
Polls show New Hampshire’s gubernatorial race is coming down to the wire.
“Women shouldn’t have to talk about these private difficult moments. But I think it’s really important that people understand the impact of these abortion bans. And we’re seeing it all over the country,” Hassan said. “And depending on when and what kind of complication a woman has, she may not be able to get the critical care she needs in time. And I want people to be thinking about that.”
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