Representatives of Cornerstone Action will be in Concord in the coming days to support five much-needed measures relating to the life issues. We encourage the House to pass each of these bills.
- Repeal of the “buffer zone” law (HB 403). This blatantly unconstitutional law is already tied up in federal court. The law makes all demonstration, including silent prayer, illegal within “up to 25 feet” of an abortion facility, with the precise zone up to the discretion of each abortion provider.The same Governor who signed the bill is now unwilling to order her Attorney General to enforce it. She went ahead and signed the bill days after a similar Massachusetts law was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. By passing repeal, the legislature can give the Governor a chance to back away gracefully from her inexplicably poor judgment. There is no reason to pit the First Amendment against the safety of women, as though they’re incompatible.
- The fetal homicide bill known as “Griffin’s Law” (HB 560). It’s a matter of justice that abusive partners and impaired drivers who cause a woman to lose a wanted pregnancy should face charges for the death of the preborn child. Furthermore, a woman’s choice to carry a pregnancy to term should get at least as much respect under law as a woman’s choice to terminate a pregnancy. New Hampshire, with its lack of fetal homicide legislation, is far behind the rest of the country. We commend Rep. Leon Rideout, who is sponsoring this bill in memory of his grandson Griffin.
- Preventing post-viability abortions (HB 595). Cornerstone supports this effort to prevent most late-term abortions in New Hampshire. We note that under the terms of the bill, a provider doing a late-term abortion for emergency reasons would be encouraged to use a method that would provide the best opportunity for the preborn child to survive, consistent with the safety of the mother.
- Abortion statistics (HB 629). Here is another overdue piece of legislation that will bring New Hampshire into line with most other states that already report abortion statistics to the Centers for Disease Control as a matter of public health. An aggregate summary of abortion data, with absolute protection of patient confidentiality, will be valuable not only in public health work but also in public policy discussions.
- Prohibiting the direct and indirect use of public funds for abortion (HB 677). Contracts for family planning services should not be a back-door way of providing public funding for the benefit of abortion providers. Cornerstone calls on legislators to respect the rights of taxpayers who have moral or religious objections to participating in the abortion industry.
Cornerstone Action is the legislative advocacy arm of Cornerstone Policy Research, a nonprofit non-partisan New Hampshire public policy organization working to promote strong New Hampshire families.
