Stop State Sanctioned Suicide in NH
Once again, legislators are introducing an assisted suicide bill. HB 1283, relative to end of life options, would implement state sanctioned suicide for those facing an illness which a physician has predicted would be terminal within 6 months.
HB 1283 has been scheduled for a hearing this week in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, February 7th, at 10:00am in the Legislative Office Building, room 206-208.
Although the bill contains what some may feel are “reasonable” restrictions, we only need look to Canada, where over 4% of the population used state-sanctioned suicide to end their own lives in 2022, to see how ever-broadening criteria can lead to alarming numbers of assisted suicide deaths and normalize state-sponsored end of life measures. Also, a physician’s prognosis is by definition a medical prediction, not a firm determination. No one can know with 100% certainty the actual future course of an individual’s medical condition.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Register your opposition to HB 1283 by signing in.
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to sign in.
2. Submit written testimony. You can do this when you sign in.
3. We urge you to come and testify in person, especially if you fall under or know someone who falls under any of the following categories:
- Someone who has struggled with suicidal ideation
- A member of the disability community
- A member of the brain injury community
- Someone who has cared for a terminally ill loved one or an elderly individual
Important Note: Some have had issues with the House remote sign-in page. If you are encountering problems, you can also email the committee to directly register your opposition of the bill and/or submit written testimony. You can find their contact info here or email the full committee at
HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
We urge you to mark your calendars, and let us know if you can come testify. Assisted suicide should never be a course of action the state should sanction. Caring, not killing, is the right approach when we’re faced with a physician’s prognosis that our illness is terminal or any distressing life situation.
New Hampshire’s “Safe Haven Law,” sometimes called the “baby drop-off law,” is a critical protection that has already saved the lives of unwanted newborns. Yet the current law faces grave threats, endangering the infants who rely on “safe havens” to protect them from starvation, exposure, or even violent death.
HB 1607, relative to expanded safe haven protections, is a bipartisan bill that will address these threats and expand the current law in the following ways:
- Expand the age of drop off from 7 days to 61 days.
- Provide an exclusionary rule to prevent mothers from being prosecuted for crimes discovered as a result of their abandonment of a baby under 61 days.
- Provide an opportunity for safe and regulated baby boxes.
HB 1607 has been scheduled for a hearing this week in the House Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday, February 7th, at 2:45 pm in the Legislative Office Building, room 206-208.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Register your support of HB 1607 by signing in.
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to sign in.
2. Submit written testimony. You can do this when you sign in. Simply hit “choose file” under step number four to upload a document with your testimony, or type your testimony into the provided box.
3. We urge you to come and testify in person. We have step-by-step instructions on how to testify here. You can also reach out to us at cornerstone@nhcornerstone.org if you have any questions about the testifying process.
Important Note: Some have had issues with the House remote sign-in page. If you are encountering problems, you can also email the committee to directly register your support for the bill and/or submit written testimony. You can find their contact info here.
Thankfully, the Democrat-led motion to reconsider the vote failed 187-190, meaning that the bill will go directly to the Senate rather than face a new vote in the House.
Thank you to everyone who contacted their representatives to voice opposition to reconsideration. Please thank representatives Jim Kofalt and Bob Lynn for their efforts in advancing HB 396, and thank your representative for their vote against the reconsideration motion.
CACR 23, if advanced, would have allowed for abortion up to the moment of birth. CACR 23 asserted that abortion will be allowed before 24 weeks, but after that, would have allowed abortion if a doctor determines it is needed, which could be for any reason, including the desires of the mother. In other words, it would legalize all abortion both before and after 24 weeks, including when the child is viable.
All Democrats supported the amendment, and six radical, extremist Republicans voted for its passing. Thank you to all the Republicans who defended life by voting against the amendment.
It’s important to note the Republicans who sadly voted for the amendment, essentially supporting abortion up to the moment a baby’s head crowns. They are:
David Bickford of Strafford 3
Mike Bordes of Belknap 5
James Mason of Merrimack 3
Mark Proulx of Hillsborough 15
Susan Vandecasteele of Rockingham 25
Dan Wolf of Merrimack 7
Your feedback for these representatives would still be valuable as our fight to defend protections for preborn life is far from over. Please also take the time to thank your Republican representative who did vote protect and uphold life in Granite State.
