Take Action Now to Stop State-Sanctioned Suicide
Act now: contact the House Judiciary Committee to oppose HB 1283.
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 an executive session as early as Wednesday, March 6, at 10:00am, in the Legislative Office Building, room 206-208. Last week, the Judiciary Committee discussed amending the bill in an effort to collect more support. Let us be clear; state-sanctioned suicide is unacceptable and deeply harmful in any form.
During the public hearing, we heard powerful personal testimonies in opposition to HB 1283 from many individuals, including members of the disability, suicide prevention, and brain injury communities, as well as faith leaders. Check out the highlights on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and share to amplify these brave voices!
We also heard alarming testimony in support of the bill, with outrageous claims such as those who choose natural death die without dignity, and the act of killing oneself, even in healthy individuals, can be a good and peaceful thing. It is of vital importance that the Judiciary Committee hear from us on the dangers of state-sanctioned suicide.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
During an executive session, the committee will vote to recommend the bill as OTP (ought to pass) or ITL (inexpedient to legislate). There is no opportunity for public testimony during this session.
We urge you to contact the House Judiciary Committee to register your opposition to the bill in any form and urge them to vote ITL on HB 1283. You can find contact info for the members here.
Assisted suicide should never be a course of action the state should support. Caring, not killing, is the right approach when we’re faced with a physician’s prognosis or any distressing life situation.
Tell the Senate to Put Students and Teachers First
Act now: ask your senator to support a floor amendment to SB 219
SB 219, The Students First Act, is an important bill that will help crack down on sprawling, expensive school administration in New Hampshire and ensure that our education spending focuses on students and teachers first.
The amended version of SB 219, passed by the NH State Senate at the beginning of the year, would shed light on New Hampshire’s systemic misuse of education spending by requiring school districts to transparently report administrative costs to the public before school district budget meetings.
These reports will prove to voters that they are being duped. Despite decades of ever-rising school budgets and taxes throughout New Hampshire, very little of these school tax increases are actually going to teacher pay. Instead, school districts are creating well-paid, left-wing administrative bureaucracies that prioritize expensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and staffing over teachers and students.
However, when the Senate Finance Committee took up the bill again to consider the fiscal note, they gutted the bill’s enforcement mechanism. This renders the bill meaningless and without consequences for schools that willfully fail to report these expenditures to the public.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
On Thursday, March 7, the full Senate will vote on the now faulty and meaningless committee bill. Before it’s too late, the State Senate must, in the form of a floor amendment, amend the bill to put the enforcement language back in.
We urge you to contact your Senator to ask them to support a floor amendment to SB 219 to restore the penalties and the supporting enforcement mechanism. We must take a firm stand to prevent school administrators from concealing this information while continuing to covertly prioritize “diversity, equity, and inclusion” over the foundational quality of school education.
Protect Babies from Fatal Abandonment and Abuse
Act now: contact the HHS committee to support HB 1607.
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, abuse, 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. This section would rectify the current use of a vulnerable baby for bait to catch a mother’s unrelated crimes.
- Provide an opportunity for safe and regulated baby boxes.
During the public hearing on the bill, Pastor Kevin Trombley testified from his ministry experience at a safe haven church on why expanding the age limit for children relinquished by their parents from seven to 61 days is critical for the protection of Granite State babies. You can watch his powerful testimony below. To learn more about this crucial legislation, read our blog and help us advocate for life by sharing it on social media.
HB 1607 has been scheduled for an executive session this week in the House Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday, March 6th, at 10:00am in the Legislative Office Building, room 201.
There is movement in the committee to remove the exclusionary rule, further enabling law enforcement to “catch” mothers in distress. We must emphasize that the exclusionary rule will save lives. Mothers have turned away from utilizing the safe haven law for fear of prosecution, thus leading to an increase in illegal abandonment and infant death through malnourishment, exposure, or overdose.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
During an executive session, the committee will vote to recommend the bill as OTP (ought to pass) or ITL (inexpedient to legislate). There is no opportunity for public testimony during this session.
We urge you to contact the House HHS Committee to register your support of the bill, asking the committee for an OTP vote, and to keep the important exclusionary rule in the bill. You can find the Committee members’ contact info here.
