FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Coalition of Experts Urges NH Legislators To Enact Protections; Believes Further Study Unnecessary for HB1416 to Protect Pregnancy Centers.
(CONCORD, NH) — A coalition of legal advocates and pro-life leaders is urging the New Hampshire House and Senate to send HB1416 to a Committee of Conference and finish the bill this session, saying pregnancy resource centers should not have to wait for more study before being protected. The House will vote tomorrow, May 21.
After HB1416 passed the House, the Senate passed a version that creates a study committee, citing the recent unanimous Supreme Court case involving persecution by the State of New Jersey: First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin.
In response, the coalition says that the Supreme Court decision “was primarily procedural and does not alleviate the need to protect the work of pregnancy centers. The fact that just days after the ruling, the NJ AG continued to persecute the same pregnancy center that won proves the need for proactive protections in New Hampshire.”
Jason Hennessey, President of NH Right to Life said:
- “As a purple state, New Hampshire should not delay protecting our charities that help women and families from the governmental attacks seen in blue states across New England and the country.”
- “Every dollar they spend fighting unconstitutional attacks is a dollar that isn’t going to help Granite State women and families.”
- “HB1416 is about fairness, free speech, and basic protection for organizations that serve the public.”
New Hampshire pregnancy centers provide practical help that many families need, including diapers, housing, parenting classes, strollers, and other material support. Each year NH’s 19 pregnancy centers provide over $1.5 million worth of support to thousands of women, while receiving no state or federal tax dollars.
HB1416 is in the mainstream because it protects charities from being compelled to promote abortion or penalized for their beliefs. When these blue state discriminatory actions are tested in court, pregnancy centers almost always win, such as in the US Supreme Court decision NIFLA v Becerra (2018). The fact that states like Connecticut, Vermont, Illinois and Colorado continued to pass discriminatory laws after this decision shows the need for proactive protections.
The coalition asks NH House and Senate members to request a Committee of Conference so that negotiations can continue.
For more info on HB1416, including background & video from a press conference that included multiple pregnancy centers, please visit https://nhrtl.org/protect-our-pregnancy-resource-centers-support-hb1416/
The coalition includes leaders from:
- NH Right to Life (New Hampshire’s largest and longest-standing organization dedicated to the pro-life cause)
- Heartbeat International (the world’s most expansive network of pregnancy help)
- March for Life Action (advocacy arm of March for Life)
- Massachusetts Family Institute (fought Massachusetts’s discrimination against Pregnancy Centers)
- National Right to Life (the nation’s oldest and largest pro-life organization; a federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates)
- Thomas More Society (provides legal assistance to defend rights of life, family, and freedom; successfully sued Illinois over their discriminatory statute).
