Shannon McGinley: The real battle for the unborn in New Hampshire

As a mother and the executive director of Cornerstone, I have been amazed at the accusations being leveled against the New Hampshire governor, lawmakers, and pro-life groups in the wake of the recently-passed and modest anti-abortion law known as the Fetal Life Protection Act.

Shannon McGinley
Shannon McGinley

Many of the attacks on the new law have come from well-funded opposition groups, including the over $1 million media buy from Amplify NH, a new organization with a program manager based in Seattle, WA. By comparison, grassroots organizations in NH such as Cornerstone and New Hampshire Right to Life are armed with little more than minimal budgets and our passion to protect these viable late-term preborn.

But, there is an even more sinister weapon in the opposition’s arsenal that has proven extremely difficult to counter – misleading propaganda and untruths. Magnified and repeated on multiple platforms and outlets, our effort to share the simple truth about the law and its provisions is often drowned out by these strident voices.

The ban is “extreme.” This statement implies New Hampshire has somehow imposed a draconian policy without precedent or context. That is false. At 24 weeks, the last trimester of pregnancy, most developing children are considered medically viable with an excellent chance of survival outside the womb. And many states have balanced this fact against a woman’s right to have an abortion to strike a workable compromise. In fact, up until December 2020, Massachusetts imposed felony penalties on most abortions at or after 24 weeks. And the wide-open abortion industry we’re creating in the U.S. is far more permissive than European countries. Of 42 European countries that allow elective abortion, 39 limit abortion to fetuses at 14 weeks or less.

The ban is the “most restrictive” in modern NH history. This statement is misleading. No laws restricting abortion have been passed in New Hampshire since Roe. Instead, New Hampshire has allowed abortion to remain legal up to the moment of birth.

New Hampshire does have a so-called “partial-birth abortion ban,” but it is an essentially meaningless law banning only one specific abortion procedure. It does not bar abortionists from taking the lives of unborn children at any time during development using other life-termination options.

By introducing any restriction, it can be called the “most restrictive” when compared to no restrictions.

There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Again, misleading in its implication. A 24-week ban does not preclude abortions for any reason, including rape and incest, in the first six months.

The ultrasound requirement is invasive. The ultrasound requirement is key to enforcement of the law and only kicks in if an abortion provider knows there is a “substantial risk” the child is at least 24 weeks old, so ultrasounds are not required in most instances.

Even though the law does not require it, external ultrasounds are routinely performed before abortion procedures. The widely-perpetuated myth of a transvaginal ultrasound requirement is meant to inflame opposition and is not true.

We’ll be sending doctors to jail. The bill does contain felony penalties consistent with current New Hampshire law, just as other states have imposed serious penalties in their abortion laws. A provider will only be guilty of violating the act if he/she knows the fetus is 24 weeks old or consciously disregards a “substantial risk” that the fetus is 24 weeks old.

Will we win this battle to keep these hard-won protections for late term preborn? The money and mistruths being poured into the state are betting we won’t. My money is on the people of New Hampshire and their ability to distinguish the truth above the noise of deception. Precious lives are hanging in the balance.

Shannon McGinley is the executive director of Cornerstone Action.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Commentary: The real battle for the unborn in New Hampshire