Legislative Objectives
Amanda is committed to being a consistent progressive vote in the NH House on issues across the board. Key to Amanda’s commitment to feminist and progressive principles is her dedication to domestic and sexual violence prevention, while supporting survivors and advancing reproductive justice.
During her first term serving as your representative, she has worked tirelessly toward these objectives.
Reproductive Justice
Amanda co-sponsored legislation to overturn the NH abortion ban and prime-sponsored NH’s Reproductive Liberty Bill (CACR 18) to add protection to reproductive rights into the NH State Curriculum.
All people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, and age are entitled to “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and raise the children they do have in safe and sustainable communities.” Amanda will support all legislative proposals that affirm reproductive justice. (Note: This definition of Reproductive Justice is from SisterSong, Women of Color for Reproductive Justice.)
Supporting reproductive justice includes, but is not limited to:
· Supporting both the legality AND accessibility of abortion
· Funding our reproductive health centers
· Advocating for comprehensive sex education that is GLBTQ+ friendly and enforces the importance of consent
· Rejecting forced or coerced sterilization
· Supporting paid family leave
· Advocating for healthcare access across the board – one cannot have good reproductive healthcare if one doesn’t have access to excellent overall care
· Supporting measures that assure that when people do have children, they are able to raise them in safe, healthy environments with the resources they need, including access to healthcare, housing, and education
Domestic & Sexual Violence Prevention/Supporting Survivors
Because of Amanda’s work, sexual violence prevention is set to become a part of the NH State Constitution!
New Hampshire’s governing bodies have a moral imperative to act to keep our residents safe.
In order to do this, programs that provide services to vulnerable children, abused partners, and sexual assault survivors, must be fully funded. We must also work for good public policy that supports violence prevention, provides support for victims, and requires appropriate accountability for perpetrators.
Amanda seeks to reduce all forms of family violence and to work towards a society that rejects violence in all forms. In line with these principles, Amanda will work towards the eradication of corporal punishment against children (which includes spanking) in New Hampshire. Amanda believes corporal punishment against children is a tragedy that severely damages both the physical and emotional wellbeing of children. This is supported by major children’s rights advocates including the American Academy of Pediatrics (you can read more about their position here). The science is clear: Children who are taught violence is a solution to issues are overwhelmingly more likely to become aggressive adults and perpetrators of domestic violence.
Banning the corporal punishment and spanking of children, even by their parents, is not a new idea. Many countries across the world have banned these activities, including a number of social democracies, such as Sweden, Finland, and Norway. A full list of countries that ban corporal punishment and spanking of children can be found here.
Legislative Summary
This legislative session Amanda sponsored or co-sponsored progressive legislation on a wide range of issues
Amanda also serves as…
Vice Chair of the Keene Democrats Committee
NH House Progressive Caucus Communication Officer
NH Young Democrats Caucus Executive Board Member