Abortion a key issue dividing incumbent Sununu and challenger Sherman

Oct. 29—In trying to unseat popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, Democratic challenger Tom Sherman frequently harkens back to a single action.

On June 28, 2021, the three-term governor signed into law House Bill 2, a budget measure that included a Republican-backed prohibition on abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of a medical emergency. It also required an ultrasound exam before the procedure and criminal penalties for doctors who violate the law. There were no exceptions for women who were pregnant by rape or incest.

Reproductive-rights advocates were outraged at Sununu, who has long said he favors abortion rights.

The ban has become a centerpiece of Sherman's campaign to defeat Sununu on Nov. 8.

Many other Democrats are also running on the abortion issue, which was thrust into the spotlight in June when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women don't have a constitutional right to the procedure, leaving states a free hand to decide on their own restrictions.

Sherman, 64, is a state senator from Rye and a gastroenterologist. He trails in the polls to Sununu, 47, of Newfields, whose brother John E. Sununu was a U.S. senator and representative. Their father, John H. Sununu, was a New Hampshire governor who also served as chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush.

The right to have an abortion should be enshrined in the N.H. Constitution, Sherman said in an NHPR debate with Sununu on Tuesday. Sherman would like to see the 24-week ban repealed and said the state shouldn't be intruding on decisions best left to women and their doctors.

"I just want to be clear that the governor actually signed this bill," Sherman said in the debate. "He signed all these provisions into law.

"Think of what he signed into law. He signed a forced ultrasound on a woman wanting to have an abortion. That's a forced instrumentation of the woman for no medical reason."

He said the governor could have vetoed last year's budget bill containing the 24-week abortion ban just as he vetoed a budget bill in 2019.

To do so, Sununu said, would have risked shutting down government services because, unlike 2019, the Legislature did not approve a continuing resolution last year. Such resolutions allow funding to continue at a static level beyond the July 1 start of a new fiscal year.

The governor said he never asked for the Legislature to put abortion restrictions in the budget bill.

"When you throw something in the budget with no continuing resolution, come July 1, everything would have shut down in the state, so obviously we're not going to do that. That would be massively irresponsible," Sununu said, adding that his decision came in the middle of a pandemic.

There are differences of opinion on what would have happened if the governor had vetoed the bill.

N.H. Sen. Jay Kahn, D-Keene, said Friday that if the governor had expressed an intent to veto the bill, the Legislature would have passed a continuing resolution to ensure funding would continue. N.H. Rep. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, said there's no guarantee such a resolution would pass, and if it didn't, there would have been a risk of a state shutdown.

Sununu said that although he signed the bill, he worked with the Legislature this year to change the law. The ultrasound requirement was eased, and an exception was added for fetuses with fatal defects.

Sununu said during Tuesday's debate that he supports further adjustments to the law.

"I believe in flexibilities for rape and incest. I believe in more flexibility for the health of the mother. I believe that we shouldn't be putting doctors in jail. My opponent and I actually agree on a lot of that stuff. We're not that far off."

On other issues:

Both candidates have plans to boost residential development. Sherman has a plan for $35 million in investments to improve the construction labor force and work with communities as well as commercial and nonprofit developers to build more housing. It would come on top of Sununu's $100 million plan, which, among other things, will provide incentives for municipalities to approve more housing and provide money to demolish decrepit buildings.

Sherman supports development of more renewable energy projects in the state, including wind and solar, together with expanded weatherization and energy-efficiency programs. Sununu says an over-emphasis on renewable energy projects would drive up energy costs as government subsidies would be required. He supported the Northern Pass project, which would have brought Canadian hydropower to the region but failed under broad public opposition over factors including the huge towers that would have been needed to carry power lines.

The two men differ on so-called school voucher programs that provide money to defray the costs for parents to send their children to private schools. Sherman says this takes money away from traditional support for public education and largely goes to people who were already sending their children to private school. Sununu says these programs simply create more educational opportunities for families of low income, who otherwise couldn't send their children to private schools.

Sununu says he opposes attempts to legalize recreational use of marijuana in New Hampshire as has been done in surrounding states. Sherman supports legalization.

Rick Green can be reached at rgreen@keenesentinel.com or 603-355-8567.