HB 233-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2021 SESSION
21-0304
05/04
HOUSE BILL 233-FN
AN ACT relative to the right of any infant born alive to medically appropriate and
reasonable care and treatment.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills. 37; Rep. Stapleton, Sull. 5
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the born alive infant protection act. Under this bill, a person shall not deny
or deprive an infant of nourishment with the intent to cause or alter the death of an infant during an
abortion.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 HB 233-FN - AS INTRODUCED
21-0304
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT relative to the right of any infant born alive to medically appropriate and
reasonable care and treatment.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 Statement of Finding. The general court hereby finds that it is the purpose of the state of New
2 Hampshire to assert a compelling state interest in protecting the life of any infant born alive as a
3 legal person for all purposes under the laws of the state of New Hampshire, and entitled to all the
4 protections of such laws, including the right to medically appropriate and reasonable care and
5 treatment.
6 2 New Chapter; Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 132-A
7 the following new chapter:
8 CHAPTER 132-B
9 BORN ALIVE INFANT PROTECTION ACT
10 132-B:1 Title. This chapter may be known and cited as the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.
11 132-B:2 Definitions. In this chapter:
12 I. “Abortion” has the same meaning as RSA 132:32, I.
13 II. “Born alive” means the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of a human
14 infant, at any stage of development, who, after such expulsion or extraction, breathes, has a beating
15 heart, or has definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has
16 been cut and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or
17 induced labor, Cesarean section, induced abortion, or other method.
18 III. “Health care provider” means any individual who may be asked to participate in any
19 way in a health care service or procedure, including but not limited to, the following: a physician,
20 physician’s assistant, nurse, APRN, nurse’s aide, medical assistant, hospital employee, medical
21 facility employee, or reproductive health care facility employee.
22 IV. “Medical facility” means any public or private hospital, clinic, center, medical school,
23 medical training institute, health care facility, physician’s office, infirmary, dispensary, ambulatory
24 surgical treatment center, or other institution or location wherein medical care or treatment is
25 provided to any person.
26 V. “Reproductive health care facility” has the same meaning as RSA 132:37, I.
27 132-B:3 Born Alive Infant Protection.
28 I. Any born alive infant, including one born in the course of an abortion, shall be treated as a
29 legal person under the laws of this state, with the same rights to medically appropriate and
30 reasonable care and treatment.
 HB 233-FN - AS INTRODUCED
- Page 2 -
1 II. Any health care provider present at the time the infant is born shall take all medically
2 appropriate and reasonable actions to the preserve the life and health of the born alive infant.
3 132-B:4 Criminal Penalties. Any health care provider who intentionally or knowingly violates
4 this chapter shall be guilty of a class A felony.
5 132-B:5 Mandatory Reporting. Any health care provider, medical facility, reproductive health
6 care facility, or employee or volunteer of a medical facility or reproductive health care facility that
7 has knowledge of a failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall immediately report the
8 failure to an appropriate law enforcement agency.
9 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
 LBA
21-0304
12/23/20
HB 233-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the right of any infant born alive to medically appropriate and
reasonable care and treatment.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ X ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
Estimated Increase / (Decrease)
STATE: FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024
Appropriation $0 $0 $0 $0
Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
Expenditures $0
Increase Increase Increase
Funding Source: [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other
LOCAL:
Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
Expenditures $0
Increase Increase Increase
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes the born alive infant protection act. Under this bill, a person shall not deny
or deprive an infant of nourishment with the intent to cause or alter the death of an infant
during an abortion. This bill contains penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire
judicial and correctional systems. There is no method to determine how many charges would be
brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on
expenditures. However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with
these penalties below.
Judicial Branch FY 2021 FY 2022
Routine Criminal Felony Case $494 $494
Appeals Varies Varies
It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2021 and FY 2022 are based on data that is
more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the
impact these changes may have on processing the various case types.
Judicial Council
Public Defender Program Has contract with State to Has contract with State to
provide services. provide services.
 Contract Attorney – Felony $825/Case $825/Case
Assigned Counsel – Felony $60/Hour up to $4,100 $60/Hour up to $4,100
It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to
be eligible for indigent defense services. The majority of indigent cases (approximately 85%) are handled
by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned
counsel (1%).
Department of Corrections
FY 2020 Average Cost of $47,691 $47,691
Incarcerating an Individual
FY 2020 Annual Marginal
Cost of a General Population $6,407 $6,407
Inmate
FY 2020 Average Cost of
Supervising an Individual on $584 $584
Parole/Probation
NH Association of Counties
County Prosecution Costs Indeterminable Indeterminable
Estimated Average Daily Cost $105 to $120 $105 to $120
of Incarcerating an Individual
Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors. When the Department of Justice
has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department
would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget. If the Department needs to prosecute
significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable
amount
The Department of Health and Human Services states the bill will have no fiscal impact on that
Department.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire
Association of Counties