House Judiciary Committee hears hours of testimony on 15-week abortion ban and a companion reporting amendment

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lynn opened a public hearing on House Bill 476, a proposed law that would limit most abortions to 15 weeks of pregnancy, and on a non‑germane amendment that would require state reporting on induced terminations.

Representative Katie Petterno, the bill’s prime sponsor, told the committee that she had submitted a request to withdraw HB 476 to the House clerk, but Chairman Lynn said the committee would still hold the hearing because a formal withdrawal requires approval by the full House and, as he explained, “the sponsor and all of the cosponsors have to agree, and then the matter has to go to the House floor for a vote” (which he said could not occur earlier than Feb. 6). The hearing proceeded with public testimony.

Why this matters: The measure would lower New Hampshire’s current 24‑week threshold mentioned in testimony to 15 weeks and would add a state reporting requirement for induced terminations. Testimony linked the proposed limit to potential changes in clinical care, provider availability and patient outcomes, and speakers on both sides said the bill would have political as well as medical effects.

Medical providers who testified against HB 476 described clinical and timing realities that, they said, make a 15‑week cutoff harmful. Doctor Cynthia Rasmussen, a retired obstetrician‑gynecologist, told the…