Image: Dr. Oge Young testifies against HB 476 at the Legislative Office Building
The prime sponsor of House Bill 476 was met with cheers and some tears of jubilation when she filed to withdraw her bill, a bill that would ban abortion in New Hampshire after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Personally, I wonder if Governor Kelly Ayotte played a role in this decision.
The 12,000 online votes opposing the bill — compared to 900 votes of support — made a clear declaration. Once more, this legislation was not about doing what is best for women. It simply would create an obstacle to the safe health care of women based on ideological differences.
As a third-year medical student on my OB/GYN clerkship at St. Paul Ramsey County Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, I watched a bright, young woman die of a septic illegal abortion. She was an honor student and captain of her high school basketball team. The experience left an indelible mark on how I felt about the need for legal abortion.
SOURCE: Concord Monitor, by Oge Young, 5 February 2025.
PHOTO: Courtesy Dr Oge Young. [Note the high proportion of women in the room in that photo.]