HB 1663-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2391
\t01/09
HOUSE BILL\t1663-FN
AN ACT\tprohibiting buying, selling, and experimenting on unborn infants or bodily remains resulting from abortion.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Souza, Hills. 43; Rep. Gould, Hills. 7; Rep. Itse, Rock. 10; Rep. Notter, Hills. 21; Rep. Cordelli, Carr. 4; Rep. Gagne, Hills. 13; Rep. Groen, Straf. 10; Rep. Berube, Straf. 18; Rep. Wuelper, Straf. 3; Sen. Daniels, Dist 11
COMMITTEE:\tJudiciary
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill prohibits buying, selling, and experimenting on unborn infants or bodily remains resulting from an abortion.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2391
\t01/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\tprohibiting buying, selling, and experimenting on unborn infants or bodily remains resulting from abortion.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 New Subdivision; Buying, Selling, and Experimenting on Unborn Infants or Bodily Remains Resulting From Abortion Prohibited. Amend RSA 132 by inserting after section 40 the following new subdivision:
Buying, Selling, and Experimenting on Unborn Infants or Bodily Remains Resulting From Abortion Prohibited
\t132:41 Definitions. In this subdivision:
\t\tI. “Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with the knowledge that the termination by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn infant. Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to:
\t\t\t(a) Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn infant;
\t\t\t(b) Remove a dead unborn infant caused by spontaneous abortion; or
\t\t\t(c) Remove an ectopic pregnancy.
\t\tII. "Bodily remains" means the physical remains, corpse, or body parts of a dead unborn infant who has been expelled or extracted from his or her mother and who has reached a stage of development so that there are cartilaginous structures and/or fetal or skeletal parts, whether or not the remains have been obtained by induced, spontaneous, or accidental means. The death is indicated by the fact that, after such expulsion or extraction, the unborn infant does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles.
\t\tIII. "Infant" means a human being who has been completely expelled or extracted from his or her mother, regardless of the state of gestational development, that, after expulsion or extraction, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion, shows any evidence of life, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following:
\t\t\t(a) Breathing;
\t\t\t(b) A heartbeat;
\t\t\t(c) Umbilical cord pulsation; or
\t\t\t(d) Definite movement of voluntary muscles.
\t\tIV. "Experiment" or "experimentation" means the use of an infant, unborn infant, or bodily remains of a dead unborn infant in any trial, test, procedure, or observation carried out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis, but does not include diagnostic or remedial tests, procedures, or observations which have the purpose of determining the life or health of the infant or unborn infant or preserving the life or health of the infant, unborn infant, or the infant's mother or pathological study.
\t\tV. "Therapeutic" means intended to treat or cure a disease or disorder by remedial agents or methods.
\t\tVI. "Unborn infant" means the offspring of human beings from conception until birth.
\t132:42 Buying, Selling, and Experimenting on Unborn Infants or Bodily Remains Resulting From Abortion Prohibited.
\t\tI.(a) No person shall intentionally sell, transfer, distribute, give away, accept, use, or attempt to use an infant, unborn infant, or bodily remains resulting from an abortion.
\t\t\t(b) No person shall aid or abet any such sale, transfer, distribution, other unlawful disposition, acceptance, use, or attempted use of an infant, unborn infant, or bodily remains resulting from an abortion.
\t\t\t(c) No person shall use an infant, unborn infant, or bodily remains resulting from an abortion in animal or human research, experimentation, or study, or for transplantation, except:
\t\t\t\t(1) For diagnostic or remedial tests, procedures, or observations which have the purpose of determining the life or health of the infant or unborn infant or preserving the life or health of the infant, unborn infant, or the infant's mother; or
\t\t\t\t(2) For pathological study.
\t\t\t(d) No person shall experiment upon an unborn infant who is intended to be aborted unless the experimentation is therapeutic to the unborn infant.
\t\t\t(e) No person shall perform or offer to perform an abortion where part or all of the justification or reason for the abortion is that the bodily remains may be used for animal or human research, experimentation, or transplantation.
\t\tII. Any person who violates the provisions of this subdivision shall be guilty of a class B felony.
\t\tIII. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2391
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12/22/15
HB 1663-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\tprohibiting buying, selling, and experimenting on unborn infants or bodily remains resulting from abortion.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill, as introduced, may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill contains a class B felony offense 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 Judicial Branch, Department of Corrections, Judicial Council and New Hampshire Association of Counties have provided the Office with potential costs associated with the penalty contained in this bill. See table below for average cost information:
| FY 2017 | FY 2018 |
Judicial Branch |
|
|
Routine Criminal Felony Case | $449 | $470 |
Appeals | Varies | Varies |
It should be noted average case cost estimates for FY 2017 and FY 2018 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 provide services. | Has contract with State to provide services. |
Contract Attorney – Felony | $756/Case | $756/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 2015 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $34,336 | $34,336 |
FY 2015 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation | $520 | $520 |
NH Association of Counties |
|
|
County Prosecution Costs | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual | $85 to $110 | $85 to $110 |
Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors. In those instances where the Department of Justice has prosecutorial responsibility or is involved with appeals for a conviction related to the offense contained in this bill, the Department would absorb the cost within its existing budget. If the bill results in the Department needing to prosecute significantly more cases or be involved in significantly more appeals, then there may be an indeterminable increase in costs to the Department.
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill would have no fiscal impact on the Department.