Michael Lewis lives in Hollis.

If what you know of the current abortion climate in New Hampshire is from Cinde Warmington or her like-minded colleagues, then you might think there is a crisis in New Hampshire.

In a television ad, Warmington pledges that if elected, she will get rid of the abortion ban in New Hampshire — “No more government interference.” Here are some facts, with references, for your consideration.

New Hampshire allows abortion for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, and after 24 weeks, for fatal fetal anomalies and risks to the health of the mother. Search for “329:44” in the RSA text box at gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/search to find this.

CDC data indicates 93% of abortions are performed by 13 weeks, 98.7% by 21 weeks (99.6% - 0.9%). See for yourself at cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes.

You will also find New Hampshire is mentioned as a state that does not report abortion statistics. Our legislature voted on this recently. Maybe we will have some New Hampshire data in the future. Based on CDC data, New Hampshire is permitting over ~99% of all abortions. Is that what you would call a ban? Would it be more honest to say abortion is practically unrestricted in New Hampshire?

As far as I can tell, the only abortion that is not allowed is that of a healthy, adoptable baby aged more than 24 weeks living in the womb of a healthy mother. Late-term limitations were part of Roe v. Wade which attempted to inclusively balance the rights of the woman and those of an unborn child old enough to survive outside the womb, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade.

If you liked Roe, good news, you’ve got it in New Hampshire today.

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Today most people agree that fatal fetal anomalies and other tragedies that put a woman’s life at risk during pregnancy mandate that the abortion procedure be legal and safe. Criminal acts committed against the woman’s will, rape and incest, follow closely behind. Kelly Ayotte, Chuck Morse and ~70% of everybody support legal abortion with restrictions in the third trimester, see Gallup’s updated poll at news.gallup.com/poll.

Does Warmington’s and her like-minded colleague’s quest to eliminate this balance for both human lives seem reasonable or “extremist” to you? Is the whole truth represented by getting you to focus solely on a “woman’s right to choose” or “trust the woman and her doctor,” completely ignoring the unborn child’s right to life as allowed by Roe?

Also of note, New Hampshire law demonstrates respect for unborn life by allowing murder charges for the wrongful death of a child in the womb aged 20 weeks or more. Exceptions are included for abortion. See gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa.

Does the 20 to 24-week murder/abortion overlap timeframe make sense? More fundamentally, consider if your close friend reveals that they have suffered a miscarriage, even in those first 13 weeks of pregnancy. Do you express your condolences as they grieve for the loss of their baby? Does it make sense in your heart that the same lost life we empathize with, or the one we sought justice for, we instead treat as non-life when it is unwanted by the consenting adults whose actions brought it into existence? Would this child be joyfully adoptable by others? Is the abortion of healthy unborn children the best we can do in the most prosperous nation on earth?

As for government interference, many of us were taught that there are three co-equal branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The U.S. Supreme Court and their Roe decisions are in the judicial portion. Laws on abortion are passed by legislatures and signed off by the chief executives, the governors or the president.

Ask yourself, will there ever be a time with zero government involvement on the abortion issue? Is the truth that one or more parts of the government will always be balancing abortion availability and the right to life of the unborn child? Was the original Roe decision “interference” or just the latest one? Or is “interference” just a divisive label for decisions someone dislikes?

This fall, let’s pick leaders who will at least preserve the existing inclusive balance of the rights of women and the next generation of Granite Staters, and not those who advocate for extremes that the majority of us oppose.