Just hours before a hearing on her legislation, state Rep. Katy Peternel (R-Wolfeboro) announced Monday she was withdrawing her bill banning abortion in New Hampshire after 15 weeks.

“After careful review, it has become clear that there is a flaw in the bill that prevents us from moving forward in a logical, reasonable, or obvious way,” said Peternel. “Without consensus among the pro-life organizations across New Hampshire, this bill does not have the broad support it needs to advance successfully out of committee.”

The bill (HB476) was already doomed. Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) has repeatedly pledged to veto any legislation restricting abortion beyond the current ban on late-term abortions, giving Republicans no incentive to wage a costly political fight on an unpopular issue.

Peternel’s announcement didn’t prevent the House Judiciary Committee from holding a hearing on the legislature. And it didn’t stop Democrats from pounding away at the GOP on the abortion issue — a well-rehearsed attack they’ve used against Republicans since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision sending the issue back to the states.

“Let’s be clear: If Republicans didn’t want to strip away your rights, they wouldn’t have introduced a 15-week abortion ban in the first place,” House Democratic Minority Leader Alexis Simpson (D-Exeter) said in a statement.

“Today, when the House GOP realized more than 11,000 Granite Staters had signed in against this bill, the Republican sponsor made a half-hearted effort to withdraw it, blaming disagreements among their conservative advisors over wording,” their statement continued. “But even that didn’t stop a member of their leadership from testifying in favor of the ban.

“Don’t be fooled by this so-called pushback.”

That GOP leadership member was Assistant House Majority Leader Jeanine Notter (R-Merrimack).

“I know that this bill is unlikely to pass, and both parties are against it for different reasons, and I certainly don’t want to jeopardize the small gains we have made in the life issue,” Notter told the committee during her brief testimony. “With all due respect to my caucus, I have a higher power to answer to, and my conscience dictates that I must go on record supporting the sanctity of innocent human life.

“Lastly, to quote Dr. Seuss, a person is a person — no matter how small.”

House Democrats gleefully tweeted a video of Notter’s testimony.

“Vibe check: 11,852 Granite Staters signed-in opposed.”

Fewer than 1,000 people signed up online in support.

While Notter wasn’t a co-sponsor of the 15-week abortion, she is backing a Senate bill (SB 36) that require the state to collect public health data on abortions performed in the state.

New Hampshire is currently one of four states, along with California, Maryland, and New Jersey, that does not collect basic (and anonymous) age and health data on women undergoing the procedure or how many are being carried out.

The data is commonly used for research, analysis, and to help set public health policy. Democrats have repeatedly blocked previous attempts to move New Hampshire into the mainstream on the policy.

Ahead of Monday’s Judiciary Committee hearing, chairman Bob Lynn (R-Windham) submitted a non-germane amendment to Peternel’s bill similar to the Senate legislation regarding data collection. Under Lynn’s proposal, confidential data would be filed with the secretary of state’s vital records office.

Opponents raised concerns over the office’s eligibility to be Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. The Senate’s legislation addresses that concern by weighing the formation of a staffed, HIPAA-secured database.

Kayla Montgomery, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said her group could support the Senate’s version.

But most of the five-hour hearing dealt with the proposed 15-week ban, with Democrats demanding a vote on legislation they opposed.

“I cannot believe that with all the attention given to this that the speaker wants this to come to the floor of the House, or that the governor wants this to come to the floor of the House,” said Rep. Marjory Smith (D-Durham), who tried in vain to convince Lynn to schedule a committee vote on the withdrawn legislation. “It’s all well and good for someone to change their mind, for whatever reason, except that meanwhile the bill is in our possession.”

Republicans understood the Democrats’ goal was to get Republicans — even if it was a minority on the committee — to cast votes for a 15-week ban so they could use it as fodder for political attacks.

Chairman Lynn was having none of it.

“What is beyond dispute is that it’s my call to decide whether or not to recess the executive session,” he said. “Rep. Smith made her position clear why I should not.”

Lynn’s move wasn’t a surprise to supporters of the 15-week ban. Over the weekend, Cornerstone Action sent out texts to pro-life voters warning them about what was coming.

“Our 15-week pro-life bill is slated for a hearing… and GOP leadership is doing everything they can to gut this bill before it goes to the full House. Even though 64 percent of Granite Staters across the political spectrum support this moderate, pro-life legislation, they are planning to turn it into nothing more than a bill to collect abortion data — subverting the original intent of the bill.”

New Hampshire Right To Life (NHRTL) wasn’t on board with the legislation either. Several House Republicans told NHJournal that NHRTL wasn’t happy with a 15-week window for legal abortion. However, in a statement to NHJournal, the organization said, “NHRTL wanted an amendment to remove text that may have opened the door to abortionists not being held accountable under current regulations before 15 weeks (e.g. parental notification laws, negligence, malpractice, etc).”

In the end, Lynn ordered a recess on the bill until Feb. 19, a move he indicated would prompt the legislation to move to the floor, “where there will be nothing left of this bill.”

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to clarify New Hampshire Right To Life’s stance on the 15-week abortion ban.