New Hampshire House committee votes against two pro-life laws

The New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee has voted down two pro-life bills in what is being described as a victory for abortion proponents. The bills will still head to the full House for a vote.

Key Takeaways:

• House Bill 1590 would have protected preborn babies from abortion after 20 weeks of gestation.

• House Bill 1416 would have stopped the state from increasing regulations on pregnancy resource centers (PRCs).

• Both failed to pass in the New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee.

The Details:

Valley News reported that both bills were voted down, which is considered a win for pro-abortion groups in New Hampshire.

HB 1416, which would have blocked legislators from putting heavier regulations on pregnancy resource centers (PRCs), died in a 9-8 vote. Although supporters of the bill said there are no current efforts to attack PRCs in New Hampshire, they pointed to attempts in other states as the reason for the bill.

The most notable example of such attacks occurred in New Jersey, when Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued a subpoena against First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in November 2023, demanding 10 years’ worth of documentation. First Choice filed a lawsuit, saying there were no allegations of illegal activity or complaints made by clients and that handing over documentation would expose the names and contact information of private donors. The case has made its way to the Supreme Court.

Yet, seemingly because nothing like this has yet happened in New Hampshire, the bill was voted down.

More controversial than HB 1416 was HB 1590. Currently, abortion is permitted through 24 weeks of pregnancy in New Hampshire, and HB 1590 would have further narrowed that limit to protect babies from abortion beginning at 20 weeks. Rep. Kevin Scully, the bill's sponsor, said his goal with the bill was to bring abortion law into line with criminal law; currently, someone who attacks a pregnant woman and, in doing so, kills her preborn baby can be charged with the murder of her preborn child starting at 20 weeks. Under HB 1590, women would not have faced charges for their own abortion.

“It [20 weeks] is the age established by law and is the age that should have been recognized and employed when the Fetal Life Protection Act was passed,” Scully said.

Rep. Kelley Potenza, who co-sponsored the bill, added that it would be "talking out of both sides of our mouths” to penalize causing the death of a preborn child at 20 weeks in one scenario, but allowing it in another.

Abortion groups, unsurprisingly, strongly opposed the bill. "We know that Granite Staters absolutely do not want this bill," Kayla Montgomery of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England said. "This is, frankly, a diabolical bill. There is no reason for this in the state. It's incredibly extreme."

Why it Matters:

It is hard to understand how a bill aimed at protecting preborn children after 20 weeks could be considered "extreme." While abortion groups like Planned Parenthood have claimed abortion only happens so late in pregnancy because of a fetal diagnosis or medical emergency, this is blatantly false. The vast majority of late-term abortions are committed for the same reason as earlier abortions; furthermore, they aren't particularly rare. There are thousands of abortions committed each year after 15 weeks. Regardless, Planned Parenthood has said it considers all abortions to be medically necessary, but induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — is not medically necessary, even in an emergency.

The Bottom Line:

Both bills will still be considered for a full vote in the state House, but their losses in the committee indicate they are unlikely to pass. Regardless, they would have faced an uphill battle, as New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte has vowed to veto all pro-life legislation.