Bill Text: NH HB1504 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Providing that life begins at conception.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-25 - Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Regular Calendar 214-95 [HB1504 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2014-HB1504-Introduced.html
HB 1504 – AS INTRODUCED
2014 SESSION
01/06
HOUSE BILL 1504
AN ACT providing that life begins at conception.
This bill establishes the All People Created Equal Act.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
14-2436
01/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT providing that life begins at conception.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Statement of Findings and Intent.
I. The general court hereby finds:
(a) That there is significant scientific evidence which supports the premise that a human life begins at conception.
(b) That with rapidly evolving technologies for prenatal screening, an increasing number of pre-born humans are in danger of termination.
(c) That already, pre-born humans with disabilities are being aborted at an alarming rate. On average, 2 out of 3 babies screening positive for Down Syndrome are terminated.
(d) That prenatal genetic screening tools are not 100 percent accurate and test inaccuracy can range as high as 10 percent creating false positives.
(e) That the current reproductive technology now makes it easier to identify and abort female pre-borns leading to gender imbalance in our society which promises greater harm to women.
(f) That as screening technology continues to broaden, it will have the potential to identify other characteristics such as sexual orientation, favored physical characteristics, or cognitive differences such as autism, each of which will have varying levels of social acceptance and, therefore, give certain pre-born humans more or less opportunity to be permitted to live beyond the womb.
(g) That with the advent of genomic research, the development of new genetic screening capabilities, and increased use of reproductive and prenatal technologies, the practice of identifying and discarding those pre-borns deemed “defective” or “deformed” will likely escalate as new genetic markers are identified and the cost of termination will always be preferable to the cost of performing prenatal surgery to correct the condition.
(h) That, historically speaking, genocide and eugenics programs begin with devaluing a category of human beings. If we deny some humans their right to life on the basis of their dependence on others, their burden to the economy or the environment, or their ability for self-awareness, then all humans become expendable in the name of the “common good.”
(i) That limiting the human gene pool to only those categories of individuals who meet current accepted social norms is not in our long-term interests for a healthy and diversified gene pool, particularly in an age where bacterial strands are increasingly resistant to treatment. It may be that by eliminating “defectives” we thereby unwittingly put the survival of all humans in jeopardy.
(j) That according to basic embryology and fetology, a biological human life exists from the moment of fertilization as the creation of a complete and unique strand of genetic material (DNA) is present.
II. Therefore, the general court, recognizing that there is significant scientific evidence which supports the premise that a human life begins at conception, hereby declares that it is the policy of the state of New Hampshire that human life is deemed to exist from conception.
2 New Subdivision; All People Created Equal Act. Amend RSA 132 by inserting after section 36 the following new subdivision:
All People Created Equal Act
132:37 Title. This subdivision may be cited as the “All People Created Equal Act.”
132:38 All People Created Equal.
I. The state of New Hampshire hereby declares that the right to life guaranteed by the United States Constitution is vested in each human being, therefore it is the policy of the state of New Hampshire that human life is deemed to exist from conception. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.
II. In this subdivision, “human being” includes each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
