Testimony submitted to House Judiciary Committee by Shannon McGinley, Executive Director of Cornerstone Action
Cornerstone Action supports HB 1678-FN, the prenatal nondiscrimination act. We agree with the sponsors that no human being in utero should be discriminated against on the grounds of genetic diagnosis or sex.
More important than anything we could share are the stories shared at the hearing by individuals living with disabilities and by their advocates. Rejection of HB 1678-FN will send them, and all of us, the clear and unfortunate message that it’s better to be aborted than to be born with a disability.
We’ve been in touch with people who are very concerned about HB 1678-FN but were unable to come to the hearing. We have encouraged them to contact the committee directly. We encourage you to read their emails and take their phone calls – like that of Kim Tiller from Merrimack, the mother of three children with Down Syndrome. She had planned to come before you, but was heartsick that she had a family emergency that day rendering her unable to come. What she and others have told us is that they want you to reject the mindset that it’s better to be dead than to have a disability or to be born the “wrong” sex.
Please vote Ought to Pass on HB 1678-FN. Thank you.
