Ask Your Legislators to Restore HB 701 to its Original Form
This past week, the Senate voted to pass HB 701, a right to try expansion that would give terminally ill patients greater access to next generation treatments in development. The bill had already passed in the NH House.
Unfortunately, the current form of the bill includes the requirement that patients undergoing these treatments have a condition that would result in death in the “near future.”
This is an issue for several reasons. By the time they are “near death” most patients are too weak, and their time is too limited, to meaningfully receive and respond to treatment. Additionally, a “near future” requirement is vague, meaning doctors would err on the side of safety, denying many patients in need of the chance to receive experimental treatment.
Most importantly, the desperate patients we want to bring to New Hampshire—like children dying of genetic illnesses—rarely have a clear timetable before them. These vulnerable, suffering children and their families should not be left to deteriorate while doctors worry about how regulators will interpret the phrase “near future.”
HB 701 needs important changes before it passes in order to effectively save lives; you can help ask legislators to make those changes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
📝 Since the bill was amended by the Senate, a Committee of Conference has been requested, so they may resolve any disagreements between the House and Senate versions of the bill.
🗓️ The Committee of Conference will meet on Monday, June 16, at 2:00pm.
👤 The Committee of Conference members from the NH House and Senate are: Reps. Wayne MacDonald, Erica Layon, Steven Kesselring, and Jessica LaMontagne; Senators David Rochefort, Daryl Abbas, and Suzanne Prentiss.
📩 We urge you to contact the Committee of Conference and ask that they vote to RESTORE HB 701 to the form passed by the Senate HHS committee.
You can email them here:
elephantsmarching@msn.com (Rep. Wayne MacDonald)
Erica.Layon@gc.nh.gov
Steven.Kesselring@gc.nh.gov
Jessica.Lamontagne@gc.nh.gov
David.Rochefort@gc.nh.gov
Daryl.Abbas@gc.nh.gov
Suzanne.Prentiss@gc.nh.gov
Oppose Deceptive Abortion Statistics Amendment to HB 712
HB 712, a good bill which would prohibit breast surgery for minors, was unfortunately amended by the Senate last week to include text copied from SB 36. SB 36 was an abortion statistics bill which Cornerstone opposed, as the text was drafted by lobbyists to benefit the abortion industry.
New Hampshire is one of only four states in America that does not collect abortion statistics—and Cornerstone has been calling for an abortion statistics law since 2004.
The abortion industry is now attempting to exploit pro-lifers’ desire for statistics with this deceptive amendment, written directly by paid lobbyists for Planned Parenthood and unanimously supported by Senate Democrats.
Under the amendment to HB 712, abortionists will never face any consequences for willfully submitting manufactured statistics, which DHHS will then publish as true.
In theory, the amendment’s penalty is a $100 fine to be imposed by DHHS. Yet our Patients’ Bill of Rights contained a similar, $2,000 DHHS fine. Dartmouth openly and flagrantly violated the law for six months—and DHHS never imposed any penalty.
Many examples show that, on polarizing cultural issues, New Hampshire’s left-wing state agencies will simply never act to impose an administrative penalty under any circumstances.
Because it was written by Planned Parenthood lobbyists, the bill is also full of other deceptive clauses designed to serve the interests of the abortion industry. For example, the amendment does not require that abortionists report the actual gestational age of the child. Even Massachusetts still requires abortionists to report the child’s gestational age.
The function of this amendment is to give the abortion lobby special government privileges, favoritism enjoyed by no other sector of the medical field, and to give them the ability to use DHHS as their personal propaganda tool to lie to the public. Any deceptive “statistics” provided under these conditions will do more harm than good by providing a false foundation for policy and public opinion. The cost for these manipulated statistics will be real lives.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
📝 Since HB 712 was amended by the Senate, it is now headed to a committee of conference, a group composed of both House and Senate members, which will review the bill and possibly amend it.
🗓️ The Committee of Conference will meet Monday, June 16, at 3:00pm.
👤 The Committee of Conference members from House and Senate are: Reps. Wayne MacDonald, Steven Kesselring, Jim Kofalt, and Matt Drew; Senators David Rochefort, Regina Birdsell, and Suzanne Prentiss.
📩 We urge you to contact the Committee of Conference and ask that they remove the abortion statistics amendment before passing HB 712.
You can email them here:
elephantsmarching@msn.com (Rep. Wayne MacDonald)
Steven.Kesselring@gc.nh.gov
Jim.Kofalt@gc.nh.gov
Matt.Drew@gc.nh.gov
David.Rochefort@gc.nh.gov
Regina.Birdsell@gc.nh.gov
Suzanne.Prentiss@gc.nh.gov
Help Protect Churches from Unfair Taxes & Discrimination
The House unfortunately altered SB 291 before passing it, a bill that, in its current amended form, will actually remove vital tax exemptions for several churches.
SB 291 was originally a positive bill to alleviate the unfair taxing of churches and equip them to help solve the housing crisis in their communities.
However, the now amended bill will actually curtail churches’ tax exemptions – the opposite of its original purpose. SB 291 will, for the first time in New Hampshire’s history, expressly interfere in church spending by requiring that certain church income be spent only on pastor compensation.
Churches often provide for and give back to their surrounding communities through valuable services such as church-led schools, shelters, food banks, and other charitable programs. Penalizing churches for providing these services deprives the surrounding community of critical opportunities and resources.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
📝 SB 291 will now go to a Committee of Conference, a group composed of both House and Senate members, which will review the bill and possibly amend it.
🗓️ The Committee of Conference will meet Monday, June 16, at 1:00pm.
👤 The Committee of Conference members from House and Senate are: Reps. John Janigian, Jordan Ulery, Mark Pearson, and Susan Almy; Senators Victoria Sullivan, Daryl Abbas, and Suzanne Prentiss.
❌ We urge you to contact the Committee of Conference, and ask them to oppose any text in the committee of conference that conditions church tax exemption on how the church spends its income. Alternatively, you can simply ask them to oppose the House bill and restore the version of the bill that passed in the Senate, which supported, rather than harmed, churches.
You can email them here:
John.Janigian@gc.nh.gov
repulery@comcast.net
Mark.Pearson@gc.nh.gov
Susan.Almy@comcast.net
Victoria.Sullivan@gc.nh.gov
Daryl.Abbas@gc.nh.gov
Suzanne.Prentiss@gc.nh.gov
Help Flip Another Democrat District
Join us this weekend for a door knocking effort in support of Cornerstone endorsed candidate, Ken Hilton. Ken is running in the special election for Strafford County, District 12 which includes the towns of Somersworth and Rollinsford.
Help us support Hilton and his efforts to protect parents’ rights and school choice!
🗓️ When: Saturday, June 21, at 12:30pm.
📍 Where: Somersworth High School, 11 Memorial Drive, Somersworth, NH.
