Governor Sununu on abortion rights:

“To be clear, Roe v. Wade needs to stay in place. I’m a big supporter of it. I’m pro-choice"

In an interview with WGIR’s Chris Ryan, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu talks about the recent sharp increase in COVID hospitalizations and steps being taken to deal with the surge; makes assurances that staff and residents of nursing homes are frequently tested for COVID; explains the complications with the roll out of his “Booster Blitz”; describes how booster shots are being given to the homebound and to underserved communities; and tries to clarify his position on abortion and, in particular, his objections to portions of the late term abortion bill which is being considered by the legislature.

Governor Sununu describes the steps which have been taken to deal with the surge in COVID cases in the Granite State. A “Strike Team” of healthcare workers from other states will be deployed to nursing homes in New Hampshire; hospitals will be allowed to increase capacity by having them reclassify as acute care facilities; and long-term solutions are in place to develop incentives to encourage people to go into nursing and working in the healthcare field.

To assure everyone that the nursing homes in the state are safe, the Governor talks about the Sentinel Program has been put in place to provide frequent COVID tests for staff and residents of nursing homes.

In the event that a resident came down with COVID, Governor Sununu explains that steps to isolate that individual or individuals are in place and deaths in long term facilities have decreased greatly.

Governor Sununu reports that most COVID related hospitalizations and deaths these days occur in general community settings, especially among individuals who are not vaccinated.

For that reason, the Governor has launched a “Booster Blitz” program in fifteen locations across the state will be available on Saturday, December 11. When he was asked why Nashua was not included in the blitz, Governor Sununu explained that this is the first of several events promoting booster shots.

The Governor also outlined the goals of the Equity Access Program and the Homebound Program which goes door to door delivering vaccinations to the homeless or individuals with mobility issues.

Recently, Senator Shaheen proclaimed that there would be a revolution if Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. In response, Governor Sununu stated, “To be clear, Roe v. Wade needs to stay in place. I’m a big supporter of it. I’m a pro-choice governor.”

Governor Sununu went on to speak about his objections to the New Hampshire laws, which will go into effect on January 1, 2022, limiting late term abortions. These abortion provisions were tacked onto the state budget as a rider last June; and despite his objections, in order to keep the state functioning, the Governor signed the budget.

The budget included an abortion ban after 24 weeks, even in cases of rape, incest, fetal anomaly, and required any person seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound.

The Governor is hopeful that when the legislature reconvenes in January that it will revise the bill so that will remove the ultrasound mandate and will permit abortions in cases of rape, incest, and fetal anomaly.

In the meantime, Governor Sununu thinks that the ultrasound provision only applies to people seeking an abortion in the last trimester of a pregnancy. The Governor maintains that late pregnancy abortions are very rare.

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