(LifeSiteNews) – Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire recently blocked an attempt to enshrine the “right” to abortion in state law.
On Thursday, the pro-abortion motion failed with a 14-10 party line vote. Republican lawmakers, who control the Senate, argued that there was no need for the Democrat-sponsored proposal since the state’s Fetal Life Protection Act already clearly states that abortion is illegal after 24 weeks gestation, which allows women to kill their children for the first half of their pregnancies.
However, Senate Democrats claim the law is unclear and introduced SB 181 in January to provide additional codification for abortion.
“This bill provides that, with limited statutory exception, the state shall not restrict or interfere with an individual’s decision to terminate a pregnancy and establishes a private right of action for violation of the chapter,” the proposed bill states. “It shall be the public policy of New Hampshire that, because it is vital to the equality and liberty of all individuals, the state shall not restrict or interfere with an individual’s exercise of their private decision to terminate a pregnancy.”
The proposal also detailed that women who are “injured as a result of a violation” of their alleged “right” to kill their children “shall have a private right of action in superior court against the state for injunctive relief arising from the violation.”
Democrats also pushed for the bill to be effective as soon as it was passed.
Labour MP Stella Creasy has threatened to table an amendment to the Government’s upcoming Bill of Rights to give women the “fundamental right to an abortion”.
Ms Creasy has already been instrumental in imposing abortion on Northern Ireland, promoting DIY abortion, and banning pro-life vigils around abortion clinics. Now she wants to remove any restrictions on abortion. She even wants decisions on abortion law to be taken out of the hands of elected politicians by making it a “right”.
Sign this petition calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to resist any attempt to make abortion a right.
There is no right to abortion in international law. None of the nine core treaties of the United Nations recognises abortion as a human right (including the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women).
Instead, several human rights instruments recognise the right to life of children before birth. The Declaration of the Rights of the Child states: “... the child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection before as well as after birth...”
There can be no right to end the life of an innocent unborn child.
The UK already has some of the most permissive abortion legislation in Europe. A right to abortion would make the situation here even worse. Creating an absolute “right” to abortion would logically mean removing any restrictions. The worst implications of this could include:
• The removal of any gestational limits, allowing abortion up to birth
• Abortion based on the gender of the baby
• The removal of medical safeguards, including the involvement of doctors
• Erosion of conscience rights for medical professionals
Sign this petition to tell Mr Sunak not to make abortion a right.
The overturn of a Court decision in the United States has no direct implications for abortion law in the UK, which is regulated by Acts of Parliament. The regulation of a controversial issue such as abortion should lie with democratically elected MPs, not the courts. Robert Buckland MP, the former Justice Secretary, has warned that enshrining abortion as a right “risks bringing our courts into the political arena as in the United States”.
Tell Mr Sunak to stand up for parliamentary democracy and a true understanding of human rights, and resist any attempt to make abortion a right.
HB 625, which already outlines the law as prohibiting abortion after 24 weeks, was passed in 2021 and went into effect last January. The legislation strictly “prohibits a health care provider from performing an abortion if the gestational age of the fetus is at least 24 weeks unless there is a medical emergency.”
Medical professionals are required to conduct all relevant tests to determine the baby’s development prior to agreeing to commit an abortion. Doctors who “intentionally or knowingly performs [sic] or induces an abortion in violation of this subdivision shall be guilty of a class B felony and shall be fined not less than $10,000 nor more than $100,000, or both.”
New Hampshire had no restrictions on killing the unborn until the Fetal Life Protection Act was passed as part of a state budget bill.
State Democrats launched similar attempts to amend pro-life legislation last year, seeking to enshrine the “right” to abortion as the country anticipated the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned. In May 2022, such efforts were defeated in both the House and Senate.
Although Republican Gov. Chris Sununu allowed for the late-term abortion ban to take effect, the liberal politician has a history of supporting pro-abortion and pro-LGBT legislation. Last year, Sununu rejected a bill designed to protect parental rights and require that a child’s gender confusion expressed at school be discussed with his or her parents. Despite having promised to repeal the law, the governor also vetoed a proposal to reverse “buffer zone” legislation, enabling abortion facilities to establish 25-foot areas in which pro-lifers are forbidden from peaceful protest and advocacy.
Contrary to the governor’s actions, the New Hampshire Executive Council rejected a proposal last year to provide $1 million of taxpayer money to abortion centers which would be used for “family planning.” The Biden administration responded to the situation by gifting a Planned Parenthood in the state with half a million dollars.
Prior to the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood announced the closing of five abortion centers in New England – including one facility in New Hampshire – citing the political climate and staffing shortages.
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