In the first months of its existence, New Hampshire’s modest Fetal Life Protection Act that protects preborn children in their final weeks in the womb, has endured multiple attempts to extinguish it prematurely, either by direct repeal or gutting it of any ability to be enforced.
The most recent assault has been HB 1609, a bill that guts the FLPA by removing the law’s modest ultrasound requirement and adding open-ended exceptions that would make abortionists the final word on when abortions can occur.
Not only was this bill sponsored by six Republicans, it was strongly supported by Governor Sununu. Remember him? He’s the governor that pro-lifers agreed to vote for, despite his pro-abortion stance, because he promised he would support a late-term abortion ban.
But surely, our Republican majority in the New Hampshire House would stop this, right? They have not.
Twenty-four Republican representatives were absent on the day HB 1609 went before the full NH House for a vote. Of those Republicans who voted, twelve voted in favor of HB 1609 and to return New Hampshire to allowing unrestricted abortion up to the moment of birth. Those twelve are:
James Allard, Merrimack 21 (Epsom and Pittsfield)
Lex Berezhny, Grafton 09 (Alexandria, Ashland, Bridgewater, Bristol, Grafton)
Bill Boyd, Hillsborough 21 (Merrimack)
Edward (Ned) Gordon, Grafton 09 (Alexandria, Ashland, Bridgewater, Bristol, Grafton)
John Graham, Hillsborough 07 (Bedford)
Norman Major, Rockingham 14 (Atkinson, Plaistow)
James Mason, Merrimack 02 (Wards 1 and 2 in Franklin and Hill)
Betsy McKinney, Rockingham 05 (Londonderry)
Diane Pauer, Hillsborough 26 (Brookline, Mason)
Claire Rouillard, Hillsborough 06 (Goffstown)
Dan Wolf, Merrimack 05 (New London, Newbury)
Josh Yokela, Rockingham 33 (Brentwood, Danville, Fremont)
Many of these elected representatives were on the wrong side of the original bill that became the FLPA. We commend those representatives who reconsidered their initial stance and cast their vote in favor of protecting the preborn in their last weeks.
But, at the end of the day, we can’t lay the blame for the passage of this unfortunate bill solely on twelve Republican “bad apples,” as disappointing as their votes are.
Republican leadership itself has led us to this point by installing House Judiciary Committee Chairman Ned Gordon, an ideologically committed pro-abortion extremist. Leadership has refused to remove Gordon, has continued to assign abortion-related bills to his Committee, and has taken no action to mitigate his influence as his Committee continually works to destroy the FLPA.
HB 1609 is only the tip of the spear. The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee continues to endlessly create even more pro-abortion gutting bills through Committee amendments. This includes a new bill the Committee created the day after HB 1609 passed the House—and there will be more such bills to come unless House Republican leadership finally intervenes. By churning out pro-abortion bills, the Committee forces pro-lifers to constantly play defense. Meanwhile, House Republican leadership looks on passively and does nothing to stop the Committee. We have repeatedly urged the state’s GOP leadership to intervene in the Judiciary Committee, which is zealously advancing the polar opposite position of the party’s platform. That’s where we need to start.
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 these 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.
