The New Hampshire Senate today rejected two pro-abortion bills. “Inexpedient to legislate” (ITL) motions on HB 88 and HB 224 were adopted 14-10 along party lines, with Republicans in the majority.
I carry no brief for the GOP, but if your senator is one of those Republicans, I’d say now is the time for a thank-you message.
HB 224 would have nullified the Fetal Life Protection Act, New Hampshire’s 24-week abortion limitation, by removing civil and criminal penalties on providers doing late-term abortions outside of the exceptions outlined in FLPA. HB 88 declared abortion “vital” to liberty and equality, and would have prevented future statutory limitations on abortion.
The votes were the culmination of intense lobbying and public engagement by pro-life Granite Staters. As reported earlier on this blog, the Senate public hearing on HB 224 attracted more than 40 speakers in opposition to the bill. People were rightly concerned.
In all my years of sending out email alerts to Leaven for the Loaf subscribers, I have never seen such high readership and so many forwarded messages as I did for the emails on these bills. People didn’t stop at reading; they acted.
Today’s vote kills the bills and prevents them from proceeding to Governor Sununu’s desk.
I’d like to think that’s it for this year’s abortion nonsense in Concord, but the state budget is now being crafted and the fine print bears watching. Remember that the Fetal Life Protection Act made it into law as a budget item (part of HB 2 in 2021). Just as pro-life policies can be inserted into the budget, so can abortion-friendly policies. I’ll keep an eye on that.
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