House votes to get rid of charging doctors for performing later abortions
Mar. 23—CONCORD — Doctors who perform abortions after the first six months of a pregnancy would not face criminal and civil penalties under a measure approved Thursday by the closely divided House of Representatives.
Gov. Chris Sununu has said this bill (HB 224) is the only change he could support to the abortion ban he signed as part of the state budget in 2021. The House passed it 205-178.
A separate bill to repeal the abortion ban outright failed when House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, voted to create a 192-192 tie. The House then tabled that measure (HB 271), which likely kills it for the year.
On a related matter, the House sent to the Senate a third bill (HB 88) to enshrine into state law that women have abortion rights up through the first 24 weeks of a pregnancy. This one more narrowly passed the House 199-185.
The two surviving bills head over to a Republican-led state Senate, where they face an uncertain future. But Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Vice President Kayla Montgomery celebrated the incremental victory.
"Since the adoption of New Hampshire's first abortion ban in modern history, we have heard from medical professionals who are concerned about the chilling effect it has in the reproductive health care landscape, and issued warnings to lawmakers that it could negatively impact the ability of health facilities to recruit and retain the most qualified providers," Montgomery said.
Cornerstone Action, a socially conservative interest group opposed to abortion rights, criticized the House action.
"After only 14 months of the protections afforded by the Fetal Life Protection Act, the NH House has voted to allow unlimited abortion up to birth," Cornerstone said in a statement on social media.
"HB 224, which was heard in the House this morning, would allow the abortion of late-term, viable children for any reason."
Jason Hennessey, president of New Hampshire Right to Life, said the criminal penalties were critical to enforcing the abortion ban.
"It's clear we still have a lot of work to do to convince our legislators that life should continue to be protected, especially for preborn babies that can survive on their own," Hennessey said.
"Rather than offering help to New Hampshire mothers and their children, HB224 only offers a child's death as a solution through risky late-term abortions."
Supporter tells emotional story
Rep. Dan Wolf, R-Newbury and sponsor of the bill on criminal penalties was one of 16 House Republicans who broke ranks to support it.
He spoke emotionally about his daughter who 10 months ago had to have an emergency delivery by Caesarean section at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth.
"The baby was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck four times. The baby survived because she didn't have to drive an hour to Dartmouth or an hour and a half to Boston," Wolf said. "We cannot allow the decline in good medical services to put our daughters at risk."
Wolf said in the face of political pressure he was surprised how many GOP members joined with him.
"We are all affected by our own life experiences," Wolf said.
Rep. Robert Lynn, R-Windham, said the current law states health care providers can be prosecuted and face a Class B felony only if they "knowingly" violate the ban or "consciously disregard" evidence the fetus is at least 24 weeks old.
Police officers have to make life or death decisions regarding the use of deadly force, and they aren't protected from lawsuit, Lynn said.
"No other profession or occupation required to make complicated judgment calls or to make split-second decision is afforded these same protections," Lynn said.
On repealing the abortion ban, Wolf and four other House Republicans had joined with 187 House Democrats to get rid of it.
Reps. Shaun Filiault, D-Keene, and Mark Vallone, D-Epping, went with Packard and 189 other House Republicans to keep the abortion ban in place.
Filiault said his vote was made in error, and he asked House Clerk Paul Smith to officially record his mistake in the next House Journal.
"This legalizes clearly elective abortion of viable babies at eight months and 14 days. This is the most extreme position possible, and no sensible person can support that," said Rep. Katelyn Kuttab, R-Windham.
Rep. Rebecca McBeath, D-Portsmouth, said the repeal was consistent with the state Constitution that since 2018 has recognized personal privacy to be a "natural, essential and inherent right."
The House rejected four other bills on topic, one abortion rights measure to enshrine "reproductive freedom" into the state constitution (CACR 2).
They passed it, 193-191, but this was well short of the 60% supermajority needed for it to move on to the Senate.
The other three backed by some anti-abortion lawmakers would have banned the procedure once there was a fetal heartbeat (HB 591), expanded a woman's "informed consent" necessary to terminate a pregnancy (HB 562) and required here as in 47 other states that New Hampshire collect annual statistics on the number of abortions performed in the state (HB 582).
House Deputy Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson of Exeter said putting abortion rights into state law is the first State House breakthrough since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade last spring.
"The landscape of abortion care and reproductive freedom is ever-changing across the United States in the wake of last summer's Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision," Simpson said.
"Nowhere in New Hampshire law is there explicit protection for a right to an abortion. We are now one step closer to protecting these rights for Granite Staters."
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said House Democrats were out of the political mainstream.
"Republicans acknowledge the truth that Granite Staters identify as pro-choice, but also know that over two-thirds of Granite Staters support some restrictions on abortion," Osborne said.
"Our current law satisfies and represents the majority of Granite Stater's views on abortion. Today's votes prove the Republicans are not the extremists on this issue."
