Senate to Vote on Right to Try This Week
his Thursday, the New Hampshire Senate will vote on HB 701, a right to try expansion that would give terminally ill patients greater access to next generation treatments in development. The bill has already passed in the NH House.
By incorporating common-sense enhancements, including providing greater legal protections for patients and providers, HB 701 promises real relief for terminally ill individuals desperately seeking access to promising treatment options. It will not only advance life-affirming healthcare in New Hampshire, it will make our state the best jurisdiction in the country for clinical trials and seriously ill patients who are urgently seeking additional treatment options.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
❌ The plaintiff attorneys’ association will likely propose a floor amendment to strip liability protections for medical professionals, undermining the entire point of “right to try” laws and this bill. We have heard heartbreaking stories of denied access because of providers’ fears they will be taken to court.
📩 We strongly urge you to contact your senator and ask them to vote YES on the OTP motion.
🩺 Specifically ask your senator to oppose any amendment to that bill that would remove the civil liability waiver. To strip the bill of the civil liability protections would effectively require the disease kill the person in the near future.
‼️ Additionally, please ask your senator to oppose any amendment with language to limit death to be “in the near future” or “imminent”. Language like this would prohibit most prospective patients from receiving experimental treatment. For some, doctors simple cannot predict an exact time frame for death. For many children with genetic diseases, death may not be imminent, but it is certain, and patients do not have the time to wait until the last minute for treatment. One example is Leo, a child with a rare genetic disorder that, without experimental treatment, will halt his development at age 2-3, and lead to his death at 6-9 years old.
📖 Read Expanded Right to Try: Enabling the Federal Right to Try Law to Work as Intended, a right to try commentary by Jared Rhoads at the Center for Modern Health.
Special Cornerstone Event on HB 701 Sunday, June 1!
🎧 Join and listen to a panel on this critical right-to-try legislation with our attorney, Ian Huyett, and special guest speakers! Airing live on Sunday, June 1, at 8pm, this space is a great opportunity to learn about Right to Try laws and how HB 701 will improve our state! You are welcome to bring any questions, comments, or concerns about the bill.
⏯️ If you cannot join the upcoming X space, feel free to listen to the recordings of the first and second conversations about right to try legislation on Cornerstone’s X account.
Ask the House to Restore Law Banning Teaching Discrimination
Our current law against teaching discrimination prohibits teaching critical race theory (CRT) in public schools. Unfortunately, the law is practically unenforceable due to agency non-enforcement as well as a 2024 NH federal court declaratory judgment that the law was unconstitutional.
Cornerstone has been the leading organization helping parents report violations of the law; we have also been working to restore the law by requiring agency enforcement and appealing the federal district judge’s ruling.
The House Education Policy and Administration Committee recently passed an amendment to SB 100 that could potentially restore the CRT ban in our public schools.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
✅ The bill came out of the House Education Policy and Administration Committee with a recommendation of OTPA (ought to pass as amended). The full House will vote on the bill this Thursday, June 5.
📩 We urge you to contact your representatives and ask them to vote YES on the committee recommendation of OTPA.
NH Should Stop Being Anti-Family
Think New Hampshire is pro-family? Think again. Many NH communities are actively working to keep families and their dreaded children out. A NH House member from Weare recently shared a letter on X sent to him from a member of the Weare Planning Board with this telling reaction to the prospect of creating more affordable housing….
📖 Read more of Shannon McGinley’s latest op-ed originally published in the Manchester Union leader on May 23, 2025.
