Micaela Bedell

My name is Micaela Bedell, and I'm a resident of Barrington, New Hampshire. I'm writing in opposition to HB1590-FN. I'm a mom. Becoming a parent is the most life-altering thing I have ever done—and not always in the ways I expected. I cannot pretend it was simple or easy or without cost. So I oppose this bill because it is cruel, and I mean that in two distinct ways. First: people accessing abortion after 20 weeks are overwhelmingly people who wanted to be parents. Who picked out names. Who told their other kids they were getting a sibling. Who then received a diagnosis that broke them open. They are already living through the worst moment of their lives. This bill exists to make that moment harder—to shrink the window, add obstacles, and force more desperation into an already devastating situation. That is not governance. That is cruelty. And second: even setting all of that aside, even in cases where someone simply does not want to be a parent—that is still none of the government's business. My own experience of motherhood is exactly why I know that. I would never presume to make that decision for someone else. The bill hides behind the word "harmonizing." What it actually does is cut four weeks off abortion access in New Hampshire, from 24 weeks to 20—and the anodyne title exists precisely so its sponsors don't have to say that out loud. New Hampshire has a proud tradition of keeping government out of people's private lives. What is more private than a medical decision made in the worst moment of your life? I urge the committee to vote this inexpedient to legislate. Micaela Bedell Barrington, NH