New Hampshire lawmakers last week rejected an effort to expand abortion in the state, while also voting down two proposals that would offer more protections to the state’s preborn children.
The first vote occurred on February 1, when New Hampshire legislators voted 193-184 for CACR 23, a constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion as a constitutional “right.” Though that measure received a majority vote, it did not receive the three-fifths required to send the amendment before voters, and therefore failed.
One lawmaker went so far as to hold her one-week-old daughter in defense of why the amendment – which would have allowed abortion up to birth – should pass.
“Having my third child, a little girl, has reinvigorated my commitment to making sure that every Granite Stater, including Daniella, has the right to make their own reproductive decisions,” said Rep. Amanda Toll, the measure’s sponsor. “We need to send this to the voters and let voters decide.”
Despite claims like these, the killing of a preborn child is never a right. Abortion is the intentional homicide of a preborn human. No one has a right to take that life.
Rep. Bob Lynn countered that the amendment is unnecessary, as the state already has very permissive abortion laws. “There simply is no threat to abortion rights in this state, despite the never-ending political rhetoric to the contrary,” Lynn said. “And therefore, this proposed constitutional amendment is totally unnecessary.”
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On Thursday, members in the New Hampshire House also rejected HB 1541, a bill that would have required abortions after 15 weeks to be committed in a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit on site so that immediate care could be provided to the child if she survived the abortion. The bill would also have mandated that two doctors be present for abortions after the 15-week date.
Finally, lawmakers voted 363-11 against HB 1248, a measure that would have protected all preborn children from abortion after just 15 days. The proposal would have eliminated nearly all abortions in the state.
Current New Hampshire law allows abortions through 24 weeks, though abortion may be committed even later if the mother’s health is in danger or when the preborn child has received a life-limiting diagnosis. However, induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child in the womb — is not necessary, even in medical emergencies. The baby can be delivered and the pregnancy ended without intentionally killing the child before delivery.
