Getting Social: Votes Today on Parental Notification, Gay Marriage
Two of New Hampshire’s most hotly debated political issues of recent years — parental notification and gay marriage — are on the docket for committee votes later today.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to make recommendations for a bill that would require parental notification for minors seeking abortions. Two measures to repeal the state’s equal marriage law that went into effect in 2010 are also on the schedule. Republican leadership positions on these controversial social issues is mixed.
House Bill 329 would require doctors to notify the parents or guardians of unemancipated minors before performing an abortion. While Republican leaders have given the green light to this bill, they are encouraging a hold on the gay marriage repeal bills (House Bills 437 and 443) until the 2012 session.
Parental Notification
The committee held a public hearing Monday on parental notification, sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Souza (R-Manchester). The bill would make non-notification a misdemeanor crime. It also creates an exception for medical emergencies, along with a way for a pregnant minor to seek a waiver from notification through the courts.
In 2007, the Democratic-controlled Legislature repealed a similar 2003 law after a lengthy court fight. A federal judge had struck down the law as unconstitutional because it did not include an exception in case the health of the mother was at stake.
“One of the problems facing society today is the lack of parental involvement on many levels, said Majority Leader Rep. D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) in a letter to the Judiciary Committee. “Young girls who cannot so much as be given an aspirin by the school nurse without parental permission must have their parents involved in such a crucial medical procedure, especially when it involves the long term physical and mental health of their child.”
Opponents of notification requirements argue that in some abusive households, notification itself can endanger the life or well-being of the pregnant child.
The most recent WMUR Granite State Poll, released in early February, found that 57 percent of New Hampshire residents favor some sort of law that would require minors to notify a parent before getting an abortion. Thirty-four percent oppose a parental consent bill, and 10 percent are neutral.
Equal Marriage
Both of the equal marriage repeal bills — HB 437, sponsored by Rep. David Bates (R-Windham), and HB 443, sponsored by Rep. Leo Pepino (R-Manchester) — would also repeal the state’s civil union statutes.
The premise of House Bill 437 is based in part on the assertion that marriage is older than politics, itself. “The vast majority of children are conceived by acts of passion between men and women — sometimes unintentionally,” the bill states. “Because of this biological reality, New Hampshire has a unique, distinct, and compelling interest” in promoting heterosexual marriages, “so as to increase the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by both of their natural parents. No other domestic relationship presents the same level of state interest.” The bill also states that “marriage is the primary social institution” that promotes the love, care and support of children by their parents.
The Judiciary Committee held lengthy public hearings on the gay marriage repeal bills on Feb 17. Estimated turnout ranged from 600 to 800 people, many of whom opposed the repeal measures. The findings of the WMUR Granite State Poll on the whole showed support for gay marriage among Granite Staters: 62 percent oppose repeal, 29 percent support it, and 9 percent are neutral.
Lew Feldstein, co-chair of the recently formed organization Standing Up for New Hampshire Families, which opposes gay marriage repeal, said last month that “the state, like the rest of the country, is moving toward equality – not away from it. Taking away the option to marry does not square with our values.”
The committee can opt to retain the gay marriage repeal bills in committee until the 2012 session. In January, Republican leaders said that repealing gay marriage was not on their priority list for 2011.
>> Executive session of the House Judiciary Committee for HB 329, HB 437 and HB 443, Legislative Office Building, Room 208, beginning at 1 p.m. If votes are not completed Tuesday, the session will be continued to Thursday, March 3.
This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord, with contributions from Hilary Niles.
Posted by Hilary Niles
on Mar 1 2011. Filed under abortion, abortion debate, civil rights, Family, family, gay marriage, Health, Justice, marriage, Religion, Weekly Briefing, Work.
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