House votes down born-alive protection bill

March 12, 2020 ~ Ellen Kolb ~ Leave a comment

The New Hampshire House has defeated HB 1675-FN, a bill to provide enforceable protection for children born alive following attempted abortion. The vote was 177-131 on an “inexpedient to legislate” (ITL) motion.

The official record of the vote is at this site.

A YEA vote on that official record (remember, the motion was “inexpedient to legislate”) is a vote to kill the born-alive bill. Below is the full roll call, divided by county and town.

The vote was mostly along party lines, with most Democrats opposing the bill. The exceptions – the three Democrats who did not support “inexpedient to legislate” – were Reps. Nancy Murphy (D-Merrimack), Alan Turcotte (D-Allenstown), and Mark Vallone (D-Epping).

Three Republicans joined the majority in rejecting the bill by supporting the ITL motion: Dennis Acton and Josh Yokela of Fremont, and Dan Wolf of Newbury.

Prime sponsor Rep. Katherine Prudhomme-O’Brien (R-Derry) welcomed to the visitors’ gallery Paula Page, an abortion survivor and New Hampshire resident, who was present for the vote. Speaking in favor of HB 1675, and against the ITL motion, were Reps. Prudhomme-O’Brien, Daryl Abbas (R-Salem), Dee Jurius (R-Meredith), Abigail Rooney (R-Milton), and Jeanine Notter (R-Merrimack).

Speaking in favor of the ITL motion, and against the bill, was Rep. Marjorie Smith (D-Durham), restating the arguments she made in committee.

The Roll Call

The New Hampshire General Court website provides a page where you can look up your representatives and their contact information. Saying thank you to the reps who opposed the ITL motion is certainly in order.

Note that you may be represented in two districts due to “floterial” districts, which combine several areas in order to achieve proportional representation. For example, a resident of Freedom in Carroll County would be represented by state representatives in county district 3 AND district 7.

Voting in favor of the “inexpedient to legislate” motion, therefore killing HB 1675 (177 votes)

All are Democrats except where noted by (r). Towns listed in parentheses.

BELKNAP COUNTY

District 3 (Laconia, all wards): David Huot

CARROLL COUNTY

District 1 (Bartlett, Hart’s Location, Jackson): Anita Burroughs
District 2 (Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Hale’s Location): Harrison Kanzler, Stephen Woodcock
District 3 (Albany, Freedom, Madison, Tamworth): Jerry Knirk, Susan Ticehurst
District 6 (Wolfeboro): Edith DesMarais
District 7 floterial (Albany, Bartlett, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Freedom, Hale’s Location, Hart’s Location, Jackson, Madison, Tamworth): Edward Butler

CHESHIRE COUNTY

District 1 (Chesterfield, Hinsdale, Walpole, Westmoreland): Michael Abbott, Paul Berch, Cathryn Harvey, Lucy Weber
District 5 (Keene ward 2): John Bordenet
District 6 (Keene ward 3): David Meader
District 7 (Keene ward 4): Sparky Von Plinsky
District 8 (Keene ward 5): Donovan Fenton
District 9 (Dublin, Harrisville, Jaffrey, Roxbury): Richard Ames, Douglas Ley
District 10 (Marlborough, Troy): Sandy Swinburne
District 12 (Richmond, Swanzey): Barry Faulkner, Jennie Gomarlo
District 13 (Winchester): Henry Parkhurst
District 16 floterial (Keene, all wards): William Pearson

COOS COUNTY

District 2 (Dummer, Milan, Northumberland, Stark): Wayne Moynihan
District 3 (Berlin): Larry Laflamme, Henry Noel, Yvonne Thomas
District 5 (Carroll, Jefferson, Randolph, Whitefield): Edith Tucker

GRAFTON COUNTY

District 2 (Franconia, Lisbon, Lyman, Monroe, Sugar Hill): Timothy Egan
District 3 (Bath, Benton, Easton, Landaff, Orford, Piermont, Warren): Susan Ford
District 5 (Lincoln, Livermore, Waterville Valley, Woodstock): Jerry Stringham
District 6 (Ellsworth, Groton, Orange, Rumney, Thornton): Kevin Maes
District 7 (Campton): Richard Osborne
District 8 (Hebron, Holderness, Plymouth): Sallie Fellows, Suzanne Smith, Joyce Weston
District 10 (Enfield): Roger Dontonville
District 11 (Canaan, Dorchester, Wentworth): Timothy Josephson
District 12 (Hanover, Lyme): Polly Campion, Mary Jane Mulligan, Sharon Nordgren
District 13 (Lebanon, all wards): Richard Abel, Susan Almy, Laurel Stavis, George Sykes
District 15 floterial (Bath, Benton, Easton, Haverhill, Landaff, Orford, Piermont, Warren): Dennis Ruprecht
District 17 floterial (Alexandria, Ashland, Bridgewater, Bristol, Enfield, Grafton): Joshua Adjutant

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

District 1 (Antrim, Hillsborough, Windsor): Marjorie Porter
District 3 (Bennington, Greenfield, Hancock): Daniel Pickering
District 4 (Francestown, Greenville, Lyndeboro, Wilton): Jennifer Bernet, Kermit Williams
District 5 (Mont Vernon, New Boston): David Woodbury
District 6 (Goffstown): Cole Riel
District 7 (Bedford): Sue Mullen
District 8 (Manchester ward 1): Jeffrey Goley, Diane Langley
District 9 (Manchester ward 2):Israel Piedra
District 10 (Manchester ward 3): Patrick Long
District 11 (Manchester ward 4): Donald Bouchard, Nicole Klein-Knight
District 12 (Manchester ward 5): Amanda Bouldin, Andrew Bouldin
District 13 (Manchester ward 6): Kathy Desjardin
District 14 (Manchester ward 7): Mary Freitas, Mary Heath
District 15 (Manchester ward 8): Erika Connors
District 16 (Manchester ward 9): Barbara Shaw
District 17 (Manchester ward 10): Heidi Hamer, Timothy Smith
District 18 (Manchester ward 11): Patricia Cornell, Willis Griffith
District 19 (Manchester ward 12): Robert Backus
District 21 (Merrimack): Kathryn Stack
District 22 (Amherst): Megan Murray
District 23 (Milford): Paul Dargie, Joelle Martin, Peter Petrigno
District 26 (Brookline, Mason): Brett Hall
District 27 (Hollis): Michelle St. John
District 28 (Nashua ward 1): William Bordy, Bruce Cohen, Janice Schmidt
District 29 (Nashua ward 2): Paul Bergeron, Ray Newman, Sue Newman
District 30 (Nashua ward 3): Patricia Klee, Suzanne Vail
District 31 (Nashua ward 4): Fred Davis, Manny Espitia
District 32 (Nashua ward 5): Allison Nutting-Wong, Michael Pederson
District 33 (Nashua ward 6): Mark King, Frances Nutter-Upham
District 34 (Nashua ward 7): Catherine Sofikitis, Deb Stevens
District 35 (Nashua ward 8): Skip Cleaver, Latha Mangipudi, Laura Telerski
District 36 (Nashua ward 9): Martin Jack, Michael O’Brien
District 38 floterial (Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Hancock, Hillsborough, Lyndeborough, Wilton, Windsor): Chris Balch, James Bosman
District 42 floterial (Manchester wards 1-3): Matthew Wilhelm
District 43 floterial (Manchester wards 4-7): Christopher Herbert
District 45 floterial (Manchester wards 10-12): Constance Van Houten

MERRIMACK COUNTY

District 1 (Andover, Danbury, Salisbury): Kenneth Wells
District 4 (Sutton, Wilmot): Thomas Schamberg
District 5 (New London, Newbury): Karen Ebel, Dan Wolf (r)
District 6 (Bradford, Henniker): Roderick Pimentel
District 7 (Warner, Webster): Clyde Carson
District 9 (Canterbury, Loudon): Howard Moffett, George Saunderson
District 10 (Concord ward 5, Hopkinton): David Luneau, Mel Myler, Mary Jane Wallner
District 12 (Concord ward 2): Connie Lane
District 13 (Concord ward 3): Beth Richards
District 14 (Concord ward 4): James MacKay
District 15 (Concord ward 6): Ryan Buchanan
District 16 (Concord ward 7): Timothy Soucy
District 18 (Concord ward 9): Kristina Schultz
District 19 (Concord ward 10): Christy Bartlett
District 20 (Chichester, Pembroke): David Doherty, Dianne Schuett
District 23 (Bow, Dunbarton): Samantha Fox, Mary Beth Walz, Gary Woods
District 25 floterial (Andover, Danbury, Salisbury, Warner, Webster): David Karrick
District 27 floterial (Concord wards 1-3, 4-7): Arthur Ellison, Rebecca McWilliams
District 28 floterial (Concord wards 8-10): Katherine Rogers

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

District 10 (Fremont): Dennis Acton (r)
District 11 (Brentwood): Liz McConnell
District 17 (Newfields, Newmarket): Michael Cahill, Charlotte DiLorenzo
District 18 (Exeter): Skip Berrien, Gaby Grossman
District 19 (Stratham): Debra Altschiller
District 21 (Hampton): Patricia Bushway, Renny Cushing, Michael Edgar, Tom Loughman
District 22 (North Hampton): Jim Maggiore
District 23 (Greenland, Newington): Dennis Malloy
District 24 (New Castle, Rye): Jaci Grote, Kate Murray
District 27 (Portsmouth ward 3): Peter Somssich
District 28 (Portsmouth ward 4): Gerald Ward
District 29 (Portsmouth ward 5): David Meuse
District 31 floterial (Greenland, Newington, North Hampton, Portsmouth ward 3): Tamara Le
District 33 floterial (Brentwood, Danville, Fremont): Josh Yokela (r)
District 36 floterial (Exeter, Newfields, Newmarket, Stratham): Patricia Lovejoy

STRAFFORD COUNTY

District 4 (Barrington): Cassandra Levesque, Matthew Towne
District 5 (Lee): Jeffrey Salloway
District 6 (Durham, Madbury): Timothy Horrigan, Cam Kenney, Marjorie Smith, Janet Wall
District 7 (Rochester ward 1): Timothy Fontneau
District 8 (Rochester ward 6): Donna Ellis
District 11 (Rochester ward 4): Chuck Grassie
District 14 (Dover ward 2): Kristina Fargo
District 15 (Dover ward 3): Linn Opderbecke
District 17 (Dover wards 5-6, Somersworth ward 2): Peter Bixby
District 18 (Rollinsford, Somersworth wards 1, 3, 4, 5): Gerri Cannon, Wendy Chase, Cecilia Rich
District 19 floterial (Dover wards 1-2): Peter Schmidt
District 20 floterial (Dover wards 3-4): Thomas Southworth
District 23 floterial (Rochester wards 2-3): Sandra Keans

SULLIVAN COUNTY

District 1 (Cornish, Grantham, Plainfield, Springfield): Brian Sullivan
District 3 (Claremont ward 1): Andrew O’Hearne
District 4 (Claremont ward 2): Gary Merchant
District 9 floterial (Cornish, Croydon, Grantham, Newport, Plainfield, Springfield, Sunapee, Unity): Linda Tanner
District 10 floterial (Claremont wards 1-3): John Cloutier

Voting against the “inexpedient to legislate” motion, HB 1675 (131 votes)

All are Republican except where noted by (d). Towns are in parentheses.

BELKNAP COUNTY

District 2 (Gilford, Meredith): Harry Bean, Deanna Jurius, Jonathan Mackie
District 3 (Laconia wards 1-6): Richard Beaudoin, Peter Spanos, Franklin Tilton
District 4 (Sanbornton, Tilton): Dennis Fields, Timothy Lang
District 6 (Belmont): Michael Sylvia
District 8 floterial (Alton, Barnstead, Gilmanton): Raymond Howard

CARROLL COUNTY

District 5 (Brookfield, Effingham, Ossipee, Wakefield): Lino Avellani, Ed Comeau
District 6 (Wolfeboro): John MacDonald
District 8 floterial (Brookfield, Effingham, Moultonborough, Ossipee, Sandwich, Tuftonboro, Wakefield): William Marsh

CHESHIRE COUNTY

District 11 (Fitzwilliam, Rindge): John O’Day

COOS COUNTY

District 1 (Clarksville, Colebrook, Columbia, Dixville, Errol, Millsfield, Pittsburg, Stewartstown, Stratford, + 7 other incorporated areas): Michael Furbush
District 4 (Dalton, Kilkenny, Lancaster): Kevin Craig
District 7 floterial (Carroll, Dalton, Dummer, Jefferson, Kilkenny, Lancaster, Milan, Northumberland including Groveton, Randolph, Stark, Whitefield): Troy Merner

GRAFTON COUNTY

District 1 (Bethlehem, Littleton): Erin Hennessey
District 4 (Haverhill): Rick Ladd
District 9 ( Alexandria, Ashland, Bridgewater, Bristol, Grafton): Edward Gordon, Vincent Paul Migliore

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

District 2 (Deering, Weare): Keith Erf, Gary Hopper, JP Marzullo
District 6 (Goffstown): Joe Alexander, Barbara Griffin, Michael Gunski, Fred Plett
District 7 (Bedford): Linda Camarota, David Danielson
District 13 (Manchester ward 6): Larry Gagne
District 19 (Manchester ward 2): Kendall Snow
District 20 (Litchfield): Ralph Boehm, Richard Lascelles
District 21 (Merrimack): Richard Barry, Richard Hinch, Robert L’Heureux, Nancy Murphy (d), Jeanine Notter
District 22 (Amherst): Reed Panasiti
District 25 (New Ipswich, Sharon, Temple): Paul Somero
District 26 (Brookline, Mason): Jack Flanagan
District 37 (Hudson, Pelham): Bob Greene, Tony Lekas, Hershel Nunez, Lynne Ober, Andrew Prout, Andrew Renzullo, Kimberly Rice, Jordan Ulery
District 39 floterial (Deering, Goffstown, Weare): John Burt
District 44 floterial (Litchfield, Manchester wards 8-9): Mark McLean, Mark Proulx

MERRIMACK COUNTY

District 2 (Franklin wards 1-2, Hill): Werner Horn, Dave Testerman
District 3 (Franklin ward 3, Northfield): Greg Hill
District 20 (Chichester, Pembroke): Brian Seaworth
District 21 (Epsom, Pittsfield): James Allard, John Klose
District 22 (Allenstown): Alan Turcotte (d)
District 24 (Hooksett): Frank Kotowski, Thomas Walsh, Michael Yakubovich
District 26 floterial (Boscawen, Canterbury, Franklin ward 3, Loudon, Northfield): Howard Pearl
District 29 floterial (Allenstown, Epsom, Pittsfield): Carol McGuire

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

District 2 (Candia, Deerfield, Nottingham): Alan Bershtein, James Spillane, Kevin Verville
District 3 (Raymond): Michael Costable , Kathleen Hoelzel, Kevin Pratt
District 4 (Auburn, Chester, Sandown): Jess Edwards, Jason Osborne, Tony Piemonte, Chris True
District 5 (Londonderry): Al Baldasaro, Tom Dolan, Betsy McKinney, Sherman Packard, Douglas Thomas
District 6 (Derry): Brian Chirichiello, David Love, David Milz, John O’Connor, Stephen Pearson, John Potucek, Katherine Prudhomme-O’Brien
District 7 (Windham): Joel Desilets, Mary Griffin, Walter Kołodziej, Charles McMahon
District 8 (Salem): Daryl Abbas, Arthur Barnes, Fred Doucette, Robert Elliott, Betty Gay, John Janigian, John Sytek
District 9 (Epping): Mark Vallone (d), Michael Vose
District 12 (Danville): Scott Wallace
District 13 (Hampstead, Kingston): Dennis Green, Joseph Guthrie, David Welch, Kenneth Weyler
District 14 (Atkinson, Plaistow): Debra DeSimone, Robert Harb, Norman Major, Peter Torosian
District 15 (Newton): Charles Melvin
District 16 (East Kingston, Kensington, South Hampton): Dan Davis
District 19 (Stratham): Patrick Abrami
District 20 (Hampton Falls, Seabrook): Aboul Khan
District 32 floterial (Candia, Deerfield, Northwood, Nottingham): Terry Roy
District 34 floterial (Atkinson, Hampstead, Kingston, Plaistow): Mark Pearson
District 35 floterial (East Kingston, Kensington, Newton, South Hampton): Deborah Hobson

STRAFFORD COUNTY

District 1 (Middleton, Milton): Peter Hayward, Abigail Rooney
District 2 (Farmington): James Horgan, Joseph Pitre
District 3 (New Durham, Strafford): Michael Harrington, Kurt Wuelper
District 6 (Durham, Madbury): Judith Spang
District 9 (Rochester ward 2): Steven Beaudoin
District 24 floterial (Rochester wards 4-5): Mona Perreault

SULLIVAN COUNTY

District 2 (Croydon, Sunapee): Gates Lucas
District 5 (Claremont ward 3): Walter Stapleton
District 6 (Newport, Unity): John Callum, Skip Rollins
District 7 (Acworth, Goshen, Langdon, Lempster, Washington): Judy Aron
District 8 (Charlestown): Tom Laware
District 11 floterial (Acworth, Charlestown, Goshen, Langdon, Lempster, Washington): Steven Smith

Absent/not voting

Speaker of the House Stephen Shurtleff was presiding and did not vote.

BELKNAP COUNTY

District 1 (Center Harbor, New Hampton): Harry Viens
District 2 (Gilford, Meredith): Glen Aldrich
District 5 (Alton, Gilmanton): George Feeney, Peter Varney
District 6 (Belmont): John Plumer
District 7 (Barnstead): Barbara Comtois
District 9 (Belmont, Laconia wards 1-6): Charlie St. Clair

CARROLL COUNTY

District 2 (Chatham, Conway, Eaton, Hale’s Location): Thomas Buco
District 4 (Moultonborough, Sandwich, Tuftonboro): Glenn Cordelli, Karel Crawford
District 5 (Brookfield, Effingham, Ossipee, Wakefield): Bill Nelson

CHESHIRE COUNTY

District 2 (Alstead, Marlow, Surry): John Mann
District 3 (Gilsum, Nelson, Stoddard, Sullivan): Daniel Eaton
District 4 (Keene ward 1): David Morrill
District 11 (Fitzwilliam, Rindge): John Hunt
District 14 floterial (Dublin, Fitzwilliam, Harrisville, Jaffrey, Rindge, Roxbury): Craig Thompson
District 15 floterial (Marlborough, Richmond, Swanzey, Troy, Winchester): Bruce Tatro
District 16 floterial (Keene wards 1-5): Joe Schapiro

COOS COUNTY

District 1: John Fothergill
District 6: William Hatch

GRAFTON COUNTY

District 1 (Bethlehem, Littleton): Linda Massimilla
District 12 (Hanover, Lyme): Garrett Muscatel
District 14 floterial (Bethlehem, Franconia, Lisbon, Littleton, Lyman, Monroe, Sugar Hill): Elaine French
District 16 floterial (Canaan, Dorchester, Ellsworth, Groton, Orange, Rumney, Thornton, Wentworth): Francesca Diggs

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

District 1 (Antrim, Hillsborough, Windsor): Jim Fedolfi
District 5 (Mont Vernon, New Boston): Donna Mombourquette
District 7 (Bedford): Linda Gould, John Graham
District 9 (Manchester ward 2): Linda DiSilvestro
District 10 (Manchester ward 3): Jean Jeudy
District 15 (Manchester ward 8): Mark Warden
District 16 (Manchester ward 9): Joshua Query
District 21: Rosemarie Rung, Wendy Thomas
District 22 (Amherst): Julie Radhakrishnan
District 23 (Milford): Charles Burns
District 24 (Peterborough): Peter Leishman, Ivy Vann
District 25 (New Ipswich, Sharon, Temple): Timothy Merlino
District 30 (Nashua ward 3): Sherry Dutzy
District 31 (Nashua ward 4): David Cote
District 32 (Nashua ward 5): Dan Toomey
District 33 (Nashua ward 6): Kenneth Gidge
District 34 (Nashua ward 7): Greg Indruk
District 36 (Nashua ward 9): Linda Harriott-Gathright
District 37 (Hudson, Pelham): Alicia Lekas, Russell Ober, James Whittemore
District 40 floterial (Hollis, Milford, Mont Vernon, New Boston): Kat McGhee
District 41 floterial (Amherst, Bedford): Laurie Sanborn
District 42 floterial (Manchester wards 1-3): Jacqueline Chretien
District 43 floterial (Manchester wards 4-7): Benjamin Baroody, Richard Komi
District 45 floterial (Manchester wards 10-12): Jane Beaulieu

MERRIMACK COUNTY

District 3 (Franklin ward 3, Northfield): Joyce Fulweiler
District 6 (Bradford, Henniker): Beth Rodd
District 8 (Boscawen): Robert Forsythe
District 17 (Concord ward 8): Safiya Wazir

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

District 1 (Northwood): David Coursin
District 4 (Auburn, Chester, Sandown): Becky Owens
District 5 (Londonderry): David Lundgren, Anne Warner
District 6 (Derry): Mary Eisner, Phyllis Katsakiores, James Webb
District 8 (Salem): Edward DeClercq, Everett McBride
District 17 (Newfields, Newmarket): Ellen Read
District 18 (Exeter): Lisa Bunker, Julie Gilman
District 20 (Hampton Falls, Seabrook): Max Abramson, William Fowler
District 25 (Portsmouth ward 1): Laura Pantelakos
District 26 (Portsmouth ward 2): Rebecca McBeath
District 30 floterial (Portsmouth wards 1-2, 4-5): Jacqueline Cali-Pitts
District 37 floterial (Hampton, Hampton Falls, Seabrook): Jason Janvrin

STRAFFORD COUNTY

District 12 (Rochester ward 5): Mac Kittredge
District 13 (Dover ward 1): Casey Conley
District 16 (Dover ward 4): Sherry Frost
District 17 (Dover wards 5-6, Somersworth ward 2): Susan Treleaven, Kenneth Vincent
District 21 floterial (Dover wards 5-6, Rollinsford, Somersworth wards 1-5): Catt Sandler
District 22 floterial (Rochester wards 1 and 6): Peg Higgins
District 25 floterial (Barrington, Lee): Amanda Gourgue

SULLIVAN COUNTY

District 1 (Cornish, Grantham, Plainfield, Springfield): Lee Oxenham

House, Senate Votes coming March 11 and 12

March 9, 2020 ~ Ellen Kolb ~ Leave a comment

The New Hampshire House will vote on more than 300 bills in a two-day session March 11 and 12. The Senate will meet the same days, with a somewhat less formidable agenda.

Don’t let them say they never heard from you.

~~If you have time~~ Please MAKE the time to let your reps and senator know how you’d like them to vote on the bills I mention below. Don’t assume someone else or some organization will get the message across for you.

Look up your House member here. From there, you can link to a rep’s contact page. If you’re telephone shy (I am), send an email, but do it before Tuesday the 10th. They’re going to be slammed with messages.

Look up your Senator here. From there, you can link to a contact page. There’s an office number where you can leave your message.

Senate: SB 486, abortion insurance mandate

SB 486 will force some health insurance plans that cover maternity benefits to cover abortion as well. Committee recommendation is “ought to pass,” party-line vote. Thumbs down on that: SB 486 deserves an “inexpedient to legislate” vote.

Testimony at the hearing affirmed that most health insurance policies written in New Hampshire already cover abortion. That’s not enough for abortion advocates. They say “parity” demands that abortion coverage be mandated, since abortion is health care, too.

Only it isn’t.

For another view, you can read Planned Parenthood’s glowing endorsement of the bill.

House: HB 1659-FN, assisted suicide

A committee has recommended Interim Study (IS) on the assisted suicide bill. Ordinarily, I might be content with IS on a dangerous bill. Not this time. Now is the time for an emphatic NO to anything that implies assisted suicide is state-approved medical care. I’m going to ask my reps to vote “inexpedient to legislate” on HB 1659-FN.

By the way, you can skip the FNs when you communicate with your reps. It’s a designation for “fiscal note.” The bill number alone will be enough to confirm what bill you’re talking about.

I have heard both in committee and in casual conversations that some supporters of the bill are irritated that it’s being called an assisted suicide bill. They prefer the official title, “relative to patient directed care and patient’s rights with regard to end-of-life decisions.” I’ll continue to call the bill what it is: assisted suicide legislation.

I posted statements of some opponents of the bill here and here.

House: HB 1675-FN, born-alive infant protection

How can a committee recommend that a born-alive bill be killed? We’ve already seen the Senate kill such legislation this year, but couldn’t the House get it right?

Not if House members heed the Judiciary Committee’s “inexpedient to legislate” recommendation. Brace yourself for the anti-HB-1675 speech from committee chair Rep. Marjorie Smith (D-Durham).

So here we are: I am going to ask my state representatives to toss out the committee recommendation and instead vote “ought to pass” on HB 1675-FN.

House: HB 1678-FN, eugenic abortion

A few minutes after voting ITL along party lines on the born-alive bill, the Judiciary Committee also gave thumbs down to HB 1678-FN, which would penalize abortion providers who provide an abortion strictly for reasons of sex selection or genetic anomaly. One Republican, Ned Gordon of Bristol, joined the committee Democrats in voting ITL, so now this recommendation can be touted as “bipartisan.”

And so what? Again, I’m going to ask my reps to flip the committee report and instead vote “ought to pass” on HB 1678-FN.

Keep At It

In a spirit of peace and persistence, in spite of the likely math, make the calls or send the emails. The legislators are burdened with a huge agenda (a self-imposed burden, to be sure), and debate fatigue is sure to go along with it. They’re getting paid a hundred bucks a year to process all that information. Help them out with your short & sweet message. Thank them for their service.

Remember – don’t let them say they never heard from you.

Video from House committee saying “no” to born-alive bill

March 8, 2020July 30, 2021 ~ Ellen Kolb ~ Leave a comment

The New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee voted on March 4 to recommend that the full House reject HB 1675, a born-alive infant protection bill. The full House will vote on March 11 or 12.

Embedded in this post is video I took with my phone, from my seat in the front row of the public area. Speaking: Rep. Marjorie Smith (D-Durham), committee chair, reading from a paper that I assume she herself wrote. Rep. Smith ain’t buying this born-alive stuff. Sorry, abortion survivors.

Video recorded by Ellen Kolb.

Rep. Smith: “There is no such thing as an abortion up until birth.” Fact check: there is such a thing as an attempted abortion resulting in a live birth. Ask Claire Culwell. Ask Melissa Ohden. Ask Gianna Jessen.

Rep. Smith: “The idea that there is a state law to somehow allow a woman to have an abortion as she gives birth is flat out untrue.” Fact check: There is no statutory limit on abortion in New Hampshire in terms of gestational age, and as Rep. Smith knows, every attempt to change that since 1997 has failed. Viability, 20 weeks, whatever: every single New Hampshire bill to limit abortion at any point in pregnancy has failed. By the way, no law is needed “to somehow allow a woman to have an abortion as she gives birth…” That’s thanks to Roe v. Wade, which gave states the option but not the mandate of asserting an interest in preborn children in the later stages of pregnancy. New Hampshire has thus far declined the option.

Rep. Smith: “In February, the United States Senate [took] a similar bill – the United States Senate, the current United States Senate, under the leadership of the Senate Majority Leader, defeated a similar bill.” Fact check: S.311, the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act sponsored by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), has not yet gotten a direct vote in the Senate. The February vote to which Rep. Smith referred was a vote to end debate so that a direct vote could be taken. A majority of Senators, on a 56-41 vote, voted to end debate – but ending debate requires 60 votes. The bill has not been defeated. Abortion advocates in the Senate refuse to let it come up for a direct up-or-down vote. Those 41 votes came from 1 Independent (Angus King of Maine) and 40 Democrats.

HB 1675-FN is about children who have made it out of the mother’s body alive, one way or another, after attempted abortion. It’s about a duty to care for those children. It’s about imposing sanctions on abortion providers who fail to provide medically appropriate care for such a child, such as would be given to a wanted premie of the same gestational age.

But…”no such thing.”

There will be a floor fight in the House. The House Calendar says the committee vote was 12-7; my own notes from the hearing say 12-8. It was party-line either way.

Senate version of born-alive bill hearing February 4

February 1, 2020 ~ Ellen Kolb ~ 1 Comment

The New Hampshire Senate Health and Human Services Committee will have a public hearing on SB 741-FN, a born-alive infant protection bill, on Tuesday, February 4 at 3:20 p.m. in room 100 of the State House. This is the Senate version of HB 1675-FN, which was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on January 29.

Chief sponsor of SB 741-FN is Sen. Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead). She is joined by eight Senate co-sponsors and four House co-sponsors.

Unlike most House committees, a Senate committee may vote on a bill immediately after the hearing. For contact information for the senators who will hear SB 741-FN, see the “email entire committee” link on the Senate HHS committee’s information page.

The two bills are not in competition with each other. If the House turns down its version, the Senate might still approve its own – and yes, that’s optimistic, but it’s a way to ensure that the public has at least two chances to call for statutory protection for children who survive attempted abortion. Opposition to infanticide shouldn’t be a tough call.

Thereby hangs a cautionary tale.

White coats at the House hearing

(Corrected 2/3/2020 to show correct surname of ACOG representative.)

What can senators expect to hear on February 4? Consider what happened at the House committee hearing on HB 1675. (I’ll drop the “FN” for the remainder of this post; it means “fiscal note” and has no bearing on the bill’s underlying subject matter.)

The Union Leader’s Kevin Landrigan wrote about “four” abortion bills that had hearings on January 29 – although one of those bills, HB 1675, was about children already born and thus was not an abortion bill. Mr. Landrigan’s story included a photo he took at a press conference held by abortion advocates that day.

abortion press conference — photo by Kevin Landrigan/Union Leader

Tucked in between pink-clad PP supporters and red-clad “handmaidens” were several women in white coats. I learned at the born-alive hearing that they were medical doctors and medical students with coats embroidered with Dartmouth Hitchcock emblems.

The white-coated women drew no distinction among the four bills reported upon by Mr. Landrigan. I was at the born-alive hearing, and I saw they were there to oppose that bill – a bill that would impose upon them a specific duty to care for newborn children who have survived attempted abortion, with penalties for failure to do so.

One of the women in white was identified in the Union Leader story as Dr. Ellen Joyce, chair of the state chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. According my notes from the hearing, she called the born-alive bill “dangerous” and “ill-advised,” said it “seeks to solve a problem that does not exist,” and added that the legislation’s “false claims” tended to undermine the public’s trust in OB/GYNs.

I bit my tongue and forbore telling her that for me, that particular horse left the barn awhile ago. Trust, indeed.

No abortion survivors were present to challenge the “false claims” narrative. Their advocates showed up, though.

“I’m here today for Gianna Jessen.”

The bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Katherine Prudhomme-O’Brien (R-Derry), drew the committee’s attention to the text of her bill, calling only for “medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment” for infants who survive abortion. She cited Melissa Ohden and Gianna Jessen as two survivors. Are there survivors in New Hampshire? “We can’t know that there are not,” she said. New Hampshire doesn’t provide the Centers for Disease Control with any abortion data, including post-abortion complications, and surely a surviving child would be a statistical complication. The sponsor asked that since we don’t know if there are abortion survivors here, why not err on the side of life?

Ohden and Jessen have made it into this blog before. For many years, they have been very open about how they were not-quite aborted. They know that some children are born alive after attempted abortion, because that’s how they were born. Ohden founded the Abortion Survivors’ Network, and now more than 260 people have shared with her their own stories of abortion survival.

Rep. Jeanine Notter (R-Merrimack) picked up that theme: “I’m here today for Gianna Jessen.” She got the same question as did Rep. Prudhomme-O’Brien: does it happen here? She reminded the committee of what the sponsor had said: we can’t know, under New Hampshire’s current no-stats-to-the-CDC policy. She noted the plethora of animal rights bills being considered by the House this session, and suggested that human babies deserve as much consideration.

Plenty of people testified in favor of the bill, even as various committee members played their favorite card repeatedly: what makes you think this happens in New Hampshire? Toward the end of the hearing, after the ACOG representative had testified, I heard a supporter of the bill cut short by a committee member, who shifted from question to statement: we’ve had medical testimony that this doesn’t happen.

From now on, whenever I hear an abortion advocate saying “trust women,” I’m going to remember the women in white from the hearing on HB 1675. I’ll also remember Melissa Ohden and Gianna Jessen. The survivors simply have more credibility with me.

Perhaps only meeting survivors in person will ever win over white-coated women who take time away from work and school to argue against a bill to protect newborns who are born despite efforts to abort them. Maybe only a survivor can win over a skeptical legislator.

Until then, I’m glad to know there are legislators willing to be advocates for survivors who can’t be at the State House to plead their own cause.

Born-alive legislation is irrelevant to Roe v. Wade. It addresses a situation that occurs after a woman exercises choice. It does not affect an abortion provider’s rightful duty to care for the woman undergoing an abortion. It’s about infanticide. And still, here in New Hampshire, the prospect of a born-alive law scares some people senseless.

It’s as though some of the people in the hearing room were afraid that care is a zero-sum thing, and that any care given to an abortion-survivor newborn must necessarily mean less care, even contempt, for the woman whose pregnancy has just been terminated.

Anyone ready for a paradigm shift?

Hearings, then votes

The House Judiciary Committee has not yet voted on HB 1675. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee is free to vote on SB 741 immediately after its hearing on February 4, although a delay is possible. Dates for votes in the full House and Senate will be determined after the committees make their recommendations.