Latest news with #LisaMazur
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House shuts down effort to recognize abortion as critical to women's health in New Hampshire
The resolution would not have had binding impact on state policy, but would have affirmed that it is the state's view that abortion is critical to women's health. (Photo by Robert) The GOP-led New Hampshire House of Representatives rejected nonbinding legislation Thursday that would've recognized abortion as 'a critical component of comprehensive reproductive health care.' The House voted, 199-171, to table House Concurrent Resolution 7. Tabling the resolution means it will not advance at this time, though the House could later decide to pick it back up and vote on it again. The resolution would not have had binding impact on state policy, but would have affirmed that it is the state's view that abortion is critical to women's health. The resolution asserts that 'an individual's right to terminate their own pregnancy, prior to 24 weeks gestation, shall not be denied or infringed upon in this state.' If passed, the bill would not prevent the Legislature from restricting abortion at a later date. One opponent of the legislation, Rep. Lisa Mazur, a Goffstown Republican, said 'women's health is more than just reproductive rights,' and argued the resolution 'overlooks other critical aspects, such as support for infertility, maternal health, breast cancer screenings and more.' 'Singling out abortion as a critical component of reproductive health care while ignoring other pressing medical issues affecting women creates a narrow and politicized approach to women's health,' she continued. In arguing for the resolution, Rep. Alexis Simpson, an Exeter Democrat, pointed out that 64% of Granite Staters want legislators to take proactive, positive action on abortion rights — seemingly a reference to a 2023 Amplify NH poll that found two-thirds of New Hampshire residents want state leaders to protect or expand abortion rights. Simpson also referenced campaign promises made by Republicans — including Gov. Kelly Ayotte and GOP leaders in the House and Senate — not to further restrict abortion in the state. 'Several House majority lawmakers campaigned on a promise not to further restrict access to abortion care in New Hampshire,' Reproductive Equity Now, a Boston-based advocacy group pushing for abortion access across New England, said in a statement. 'But when they had an opportunity to follow through on this promise by affirming that an individual's right to terminate their pregnancy, prior to 24 weeks gestation, shall not be denied or infringed upon, they did not. Abortion is currently legal in New Hampshire until 24 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities; there are no exceptions for rape or incest. An effort to further restrict that earlier this year failed. If passed, House Bill 476 would've banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. However, the House withdrew that bill in February after its sponsors no longer stood behind it.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House panel endorses bills to ban medical procedures for transgender minors
Mar. 19—A key House committee endorsed two bills along party lines to prevent minors from getting hormone treatments or breast surgeries tied to their attempts to transition from one gender to another. State Rep. Lisa Mazur, R-Goffstown, said a growing number of health care providers are declining to provide these procedures because some minors later regret altering their bodies. "I know this is an emotional subject. The big question to ask is do children change their minds? If so, please pass this bill because it gives them the time they need to truly understand the long-term impacts of these medical decisions," Mazur said. State Rep. Jessica Lamontagne, D-Dover, chastised Republicans for "hypocrisy," supporting the right of parents to make decisions for their children except when it comes to treatment for transgender minors. "Most people have no regret with this treatment and feel it has changed their lives," Lamontagne said. The House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee voted by identical 10-8 margins in favor of these bills banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments (HB 377) and breast surgery for minors that is elective (HB 712). All Republicans on the committee voted for them, all House Democrats opposed them. The ban on puberty blockers would make providing that treatment a Class B felony that could carry up to a 3 1/2 —to 7-year term in state prison. Mazur convinced the committee to amend her bill to allow minors who are getting these treatments to wean off of them over up to a six-month period. Medical providers who gave minors breast surgery services under the second bill could be subject to professional discipline. The bill would permit minors to receive breast surgery to "treat malignancy, injury, infection, or malformation." State banned anti-gay conversion therapy in 2018 Rep. Gary Woods, D-Bow, a retired surgeon, said lawmakers should not interfere in the practice of medicine. "The patient, doctor and parent are involved in medical decision making," Woods said. "What we are asking is for the Legislature to not intervene in that doctor and patient relationship." Mazur said minors are too young to have these procedures. "Children will never ever be able to come back from these life-altering surgeries that remove completely healthy body parts," Mazur said. In 2024, the Republican-led Legislature passed and former Gov. Chris Sununu signed legislation that outlawed minors having surgeries that altered their sex organs. State Rep. Tim Hartnett, D-Manchester, said the legislation goes too far. "This bill isn't banning hormone treatment for everybody. It is banning it for one narrow class of people and that's discriminatory," Hartnett added. Rep. Erica Layon, R-Derry, said many health care providers are reluctant to counsel minors against having these procedures. That's because the Legislature in 2018 outlawed conversion therapy which is the practice of a clinician trying to encourage patients to be heterosexual, she said. What's Next: The full House of Representatives will vote on both bills early next month Prospects: Pretty decent. Conservative Republicans in the House and Senate have supported similar bills in recent years. klandrigan@
