On Thursday, February 17, the full New Hampshire House earned the tragic distinction of becoming the only Republican-led legislative body in America since Roe v. Wade to vote in favor of authorizing unlimited abortion up to birth.
This afternoon, the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of yet another piece of extreme pro-abortion legislation. Like the bill that passed Thursday, the Judiciary-created bill—an amended version of HB 1673—strips out the law’s enforcement provision and adds open-ended exceptions to the law, making abortionists the final word on when abortions can occur.
In effect, this is yet another bill equivalent to the “ROE Act” passed by Massachusetts in December of 2020 over the veto of liberal Republican Governor Charlie Baker. The bill aims to reduce our moderate six-month abortion ban into an empty joke, incapable of prohibiting a single late-term abortion.
This is yet another reminder that Thursday’s historic failure is not merely the result of a “few bad apples” in the Republican party, but of systemic problems in the NH House GOP. Today’s Judiciary bill was passed with the vote of Chairman Ned Gordon, who Republican leadership installed as chair despite knowing he was a pro-abortion extremist. GOP leadership recently expelled another Committee chair over an embarrassing gaffe, but have consistently refused to remove Gordon even as he consistently thwarts the will of a majority of Republican voters.
Also on the Judiciary Committee is Rep. Joe Alexander, who stood alongside Chairman Gordon in an attempt to gut the six-month abortion ban in October. This afternoon, Alexander voted against repealing a law that allows abortion clinics to prohibit counselors and protestors from standing on their sidewalks—although Alexander then apparently sought to hide his pro-abortion record by voting for other pro-life measures which he knew would not pass.
Contact Speaker Packard and contact Majority Leader Osborne and ask them why Chairman Gordon still heads the House Judiciary Committee. Pro-life Granite Staters have been patient with the state Republican Party for decades. If this week’s failures and betrayals are not corrected, the Republican coalition in New Hampshire cannot stand. To learn more about the Fetal Life Protection Act, see our FAQ or the infographic below.
