HB 622-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2021 SESSION
21-0791
10/06
HOUSE BILL 622-FN
AN ACT protecting nascent human life as a reasonable and valid state interest.
SPONSORS: Rep. Stapleton, Sull. 5; Rep. Abramson, Rock. 37; Rep. Nelson, Carr. 5; Rep. M.
Pearson, Rock. 34
COMMITTEE: Judiciary
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes criminal penalties and disciplinary action for persons who perform abortions
in this state to terminate the life of a viable fetus, except when by not doing so there is a clear and
present danger to the life or health of the mother.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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 622-FN - AS INTRODUCED
21-0791
10/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT protecting nascent human life as a reasonable and valid state interest.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 New Chapter; Protecting Nascent Human Life as a Reasonable and Valid State Interest.
2 Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 132-A the following new chapter:
3 CHAPTER 132-B
4 PROTECTING NASCENT HUMAN LIFE AS A REASONABLE AND VALID STATE INTEREST
5 132-B:1 Definitions. In this chapter:
6 I. "Abortion" means the intentional interruption of gestation termination of pregnancy and
7 the removal or expulsion of a live embryo or fetus from the womb, but does not include a
8 spontaneous or natural occurring fetal death, known as a miscarriage with attendant expulsion or
9 removal.
10 II. "Gestation" means the development of life in the womb from conception through
11 pregnancy, to birth, inclusive of variable in-utero, ex-utero, in vitro procedurals and technological
12 developments to the protection and facilitation of nascent human life.
13 III. "Interests of the state" means, in its constitutional duty, the state has the right and
14 obligation to foster and protect the life and well-being of all its citizens, including the nascent life
15 within the womb as a valid component that includes promoting health and growth of population and
16 for the raising of future citizens to sustain population growth for success and safety of its citizenry.
17 IV. "Life and health of the mother" means as described in the 1992 United States Supreme
18 Court decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that provides exception to any prohibition of abortion
19 to preserve the very life of the mother, or otherwise, her health in terms of preventing potential
20 serious impairment, disability, or loss of her normal functionality. Such exception is a decision of
21 the mother, interested and involved family members, or guardian in the case of an orphaned
22 juvenile, and with the attendant doctor or physician.
23 V. "Non-viable" means, for the purpose of this chapter, when an embryo or fetus, in the
24 judgment of the attending physician and other qualified medical personnel, would not be sustainable
25 outside the womb of the mother for any length of time beyond a natural expiration, with or without
26 the assistance of current or readily procurable medical technology equipment.
27 VI. "Physician" means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally authorized to practice
28 medicine and surgery, licensed by the state in which such activity is performed, or any other
29 individual legally authorized by the state to perform abortions.
HB 622-FN - AS INTRODUCED
- Page 2 -
1 VII. "Reproductive system" means pertaining to the condition and anatomical and
2 accessorial components of male and female genital systems than enable sexual functionality for
3 procreation.
4 VIII. "Undue burden" means any statute, rule, or requirement that would significantly
5 impede a pregnant person from accessing or availing reproductive care for the purpose of abortion
6 prior to viability of the fetus, but under the auspices of qualified medical or health professionals and
7 under proper sanitary medical conditions.
8 IX. "Viability" means, pertaining to a fetus alive in the womb, its condition, extent of
9 development, and ability to survive outside the womb either by natural and typical postpartum care
10 and/or with artificial assistance that medical technology can provide that is either available or
11 readily procurable at that time and place of need. (Due to the advancement of medical technology,
12 viability in Planned Parenthood v. Casey was considered to be about 23 or 24 weeks, rather than the
13 28 weeks previously held in Roe v. Wade in 1973.)
14 132-B:2 Protecting Viable Nascent Human Life as a Reasonable and Valid State Interest.
15 I. No abortion shall be performed in this state to terminate the life of a viable fetus, except
16 when by not doing so there is a clear and present a danger to the life of the mother or will otherwise
17 cause serious and permanent impairment to her normal state of health. Her decision to terminate
18 the life of a nonviable embryo or fetus in her womb shall be at first adequately informed, and open to
19 the counsel of her husband, spousal partner, family, or adviser, as she may so prefer, as well as by
20 the medical judgment of her attending physician. In the instance of a minor female seeking such an
21 abortion, there must be the consent of a parent or guardian pursuant RSA 132:33, except as provided
22 by waiver of notice at RSA 132:34.
23 II. In the event of an abortion of either a viable or non-viable embryo or fetus, it shall be the
24 duty of the physician, hospital, and or clinic facility to report the physiological facts of the procedure,
25 but not the personal information of the patient, which must remain confidential and completely
26 private, to the facility where performed, the New Hampshire department of health and human
27 services, and to the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to the extent that it does not violate
28 the privacy of the patient, but may be otherwise legally sought or required under the data protocols
29 of those entities.
30 132-B:3 Penalties.
31 I. Any person who violates the provisions of RSA 132-B:2 shall be guilty of a class B felony.
32 II. Any physician who performs an abortion in violation of RSA 132-B:2 shall be subject to
33 disciplinary action under RSA 329.
34 132-B:4 Severability. If any provision hereof or the application thereof to any person or
35 circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this
36 chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the
37 provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
HB 622-FN - AS INTRODUCED
- Page 3 -
1 2 New Subparagraph; Physicians and Surgeons; Disciplinary Actions. Amend RSA 329:17, VI
2 by inserting after subparagraph (l) the following new subparagraph:
3 (m) Has performed an abortion in violation of RSA 132-B.
4 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBA
21-0791
1/13/21
HB 622-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT protecting nascent human life as a reasonable and valid state interest.
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
Expenditures $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
Funding Source: [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other
COUNTY:
Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Expenditures $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes criminal penalties and disciplinary action for persons who perform abortions
in this state to terminate the life of a viable fetus, except when by not doing so there is a clear
and present danger to the life or health of the mother. 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
Simple Criminal Case $309 $309
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
The Judicial Branch indicates the bill creates a class B felony and provides for disciplinary
action before the Board of Medicine which would be subject to appeal to the Supreme Court.
While it is likely this would result in additional criminal actions filed in superior court, appeals
of criminal verdicts to the Supreme Court, and appeals of disciplinary action by the Board of
Medicine to the Supreme Court, it is not possible to calculate how many new cases would be filed
under the new provision or the impact on the Branch’s resources. In addition, the new criminal
penalties require updates to the uniform charge table, notification and training of judges and
staff, updating the Judicial Branch’s Odyssey database, modifying or creating new forms, and/or
making any changes to the e-filing system. Those costs will be collectively determined based on
all legislation that is passed into law.
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's Administrative Prosecution Unit provides legal counsel to the Board
of Medicine. If a physician is found to be in violation of RSA 132-B:2 and subject to disciplinary
action by the Board of Medicine, the Unit would involved in such action as well as potential
appeals of Board decisions to the Supreme Court.
The Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) indicates this bill may require
OPLC staff to investigate complaints of violations and provide administrative support over
disciplinary actions. The OPLC indicates the fiscal impact cannot be determined because the
number of possible cases is unknown.
The Department of Health and Human Services indicates there would be no fiscal impact to the
Department because the proposed legislation does not require Department action.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections, Health and Human Services and Justice, Judicial
Council, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and Office of Professional Licensure and
Certification
Statutes affected: Introduced: 329:17
latest version: 329:17