Ruth Larson: She'll fight for reproductive rights, women's right to choose if elected to Senate

To The Daily Sun,

Until this year, the United States moved toward protecting reproductive rights, which are integral to women’s equality. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman seeking an abortion.

With the recent overruling of Roe v. Wade by the current Supreme

Court, the country has moved away from world standards, leaving women dependent on state legislatures to protect their reproductive rights and their privacy. Although in New Hampshire a woman is still legally able to obtain an abortion up to 24 weeks, that right is under threat. The first abortion ban in over 40 years was recently signed into law through the back door, as part of a large budget bill, and numerous additional restrictions have been proposed.

A woman’s choice to use birth control, to have or not have a child, to carry a fetus to term or to terminate a pregnancy are all decisions that should be hers alone, without interference from the state. Restrictions on women’s reproductive rights have far-reaching consequences in terms of gender equality, bodily autonomy, equal participation in the economy, and the health of the woman and the fetus or child.

In New Hampshire, if the term “Live Free or Die” is to mean anything, it must include a woman’s right to make her own reproductive decisions. In my view, truly “pro-life” policies are those that support and nurture children after their birth, with emphasis on health, education, clean air and water, and safety from violence. It is my goal for those areas to be common ground that we can all agree on.

If elected to the NH Senate, I will fight for reproductive rights and will vote to guarantee them under law.

Ruth Larson

Alton