Center Harbor rally supports national women’s march and reproductive justice

CENTER HARBOR —More than 30 women and men rallied in Center Harbor on Saturday, Oct. 2,  to show their solidarity with women nationwide who support a woman’s right to choose and control over their own bodies. More than 650 similar marches and rallies were held in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including rallies in Portsmouth, Plaistow, New Market, Concord, Keene, Lebanon, New London, Center Harbor and Lancaster.

Cindy Stanton of Moultonborough, said of the Center Harbor event, “I’ve been going to local rallies since 2010. We’ve never had so many positive responses from passersby.”

Women’s right to choose came to the fore in New Hampshire, when Gov. Chris Sununu refused to veto the state budget after the GOP added an amendment drastically increasing the restrictions on women’s right to have an abortion and punishing doctors who break the restrictive new law.

Bonnie Chehames, chair of the Tuftonboro Democrats, said, “The contradictions in Republican’s definition of government overreach are apparent. Vaccine mandates are overreach, government dictating to women what they can and cannot do with their bodies are not.”

Abortions in New Hampshire will be banned after a fetus has reached 24 weeks gestation, including cases of rape, incest and fatal fetal anomaly. Doctors who violate the law could be sentenced up to seven years in prison and fined up to $100,000.

In addition, the Republican majority Executive Counsel defunded three family planning agencies in the state. 

Sandwich resident Maggie Porter, a rally organizer, said, “Not only are abortions after 24 weeks now illegal, but obtaining birth control to prevent unwanted births has also been made much more difficult. That’s why women and men across New Hampshire are outraged at Gov. Sununu and his pandering to the extremist wing of the Republican party.”