New Hampshire is one of three states that do not report abortion statistics to the Centers for Disease Control. A statistics-collection bill introduced early in 2015 was retained in committee for further study. A House Health and Human Services subcommittee held a work session on the bill on September 8. The bill is expected to be amended before the House takes further action in early 2016.
A potential sticking point in the bill is whether to collect information on abortion providers. Under the current terms of the proposed bill, any data collected by the state would then be reported in aggregated form, with patient and provider names kept confidential. One subcommittee member at the September 8 meeting expressed concern that identification of providersĀ for state record-keeping purposes,Ā even if their names are not released to the general public, could lead to violence against providers.
Read more at Leaven for the Loaf.