The fight for preborn life should not be a political punching bag, but that is exactly what it has become under Rep. Katy Peternel’s sponsorship. By modifying the protective window from 24 to 15 weeks, HB 476 is a measured, reasonable extension of abortion protections supported by the majority of Granite Staters.

There was no “fatal flaw” in the bill’s language. By stating that abortion is legal before a certain gestational age is not to condone it, but simply acknowledging a simple fact. It’s akin to referring to a speed limit. Such moderating language was actually necessary to garner the needed sponsor support to introduce the bill, and was initially supported by Rep. Peternel for that very reason.

Let’s be clear. The problem was never with HB 476, but with Republican leadership determined to destroy any further protections for the preborn. Their goal was to prevent this bill from even being heard. To do that, they created new House rules, introduced a gutting amendment, and exerted unprecedented individual pressure on lawmakers to withdraw support. It worked.

To introduce a moderating bill in an effort to broker compromise but then withdraw it as a self-proclaimed purist is disingenuous at best. The problem was never a “small group of activists,” but one party’s determination to codify abortion through the first six months in defiance of the majority of voters. It is telling that neither Rep. Peternel nor any co-sponsor addressed any concerns with the bill prior to their motion to withdraw. Rep. Peternel simply bowed to party pressure while still claiming to be a strong pro-life advocate. Both can’t be true.

Throughout all this whipsawing, Cornerstone has merely stood firm. How we’re viewed and attacked apparently is purely a function of sudden seismic political shifts we can’t control. But, we can continue to state the truth and remember our fight is not about political alliances, but to save precious innocent lives. I’d like to ask Rep. Peternel, if not HB 476, exactly what restrictions she would commit to bring to the House floor next session, and will House leadership even allow it? Absent this, her protestations ring hollow.

HB 476 is a moderate, common-sense expansion of abortion protections supported by polling. It will now come up before the House this Thursday. Please urge your representatives to pull from the consent calendar and vote no on the motion to withdraw. If the House is so determined that these fully formed babies must die, ask your reps to stand by their decision and do so in an open roll call vote in the light of day. If this moderate restriction cannot get a floor vote, no abortion restriction will ever get a floor vote.