In an interview today on Andrea Mitchell Reports, Senator Maggie Hassan discussed the critical need to enshrine Roe into law, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans’ decades-long push to criminalize abortion — and why her opponents would all vote to take away a woman’s fundamental freedoms.
New Hampshire is one of the most pro-choice states in the country — yet all of Senator Hassan’s opponents support overturning Roe. One of her opponents — New Hampshire Senate President Chuck Morse — even voted against enshrining Roe into state law last week and another has promised voters that “we are SO close to ending abortion once and for all.”
KEY EXCERPTS
On the Need to Enshrine Roe into Law
“What’s at issue today is that we’re on the verge of seeing the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Mitch McConnell’s decades long quest to undo a woman’s fundamental freedom is before us. And what we need to do is make sure that we have this opportunity to vote to protect a woman’s right for fundamental freedom, to make her own health care decisions, to chart her own future. That’s what today’s vote is about. And it’s outrageous that the Republicans will block an up or down vote on it.”
On Her Opponents’ Support for Criminalizing Abortion
“In New Hampshire, I have opponents who were the architects of a very extreme abortion ban in our state, the first one in modern New Hampshire history. They’ve all come out saying that they support the Alito draft opinion and voters really need to know who stands to protect this, in part because we also know that Mitch McConnell is now talking about a national abortion ban. At the end of the day, we need to make sure that people understand what’s fundamentally at issue here and who is going to listen to the people they represent in New Hampshire. [Abortion rights] has always had bipartisan support, the right of a woman to make her own health care decisions. And yet my opponents all say they want to substitute their judgment and have the government decide for women on these critical issues. Which raises the issue, too, of what else won’t they listen to you about? We know we have to deal with inflation. We know we need to do more to help people lower costs like prescription drugs or child care. That’s why it is so important for people to know who’s listening to them, who represents their views.
On Mitch McConnell’s Long Term Plan to Take Away Abortion Rights
“Mitch McConnell has had a long plan here to overturn a woman’s fundamental right to make our own health care decisions. And I think we should be very concerned about the language we’re hearing him saying that a national abortion ban could be next. At the end of the day, the American people need to know that they will have elected representatives who are accountable to them and who will actually address the priorities that they care about. By strong majorities, Americans think we should be focusing on inflation and the economy right now. Yet what the Republicans have been focusing on is taking away a fundamental right. My daughter, if McConnell’s vision of America goes forward, will have fewer rights than I did. That’s unacceptable. And it really is important to ask ourselves the question, if they’re willing to take away these rights, what other rights are next?”