civic engagement – Leaven for the Loaf

Hearing on Abortion Amendment January 22

Edited to correct hearing time: 1 p.m., January 22, 2020.

You’ll soon have a chance to register your opinion on a measure that would create a right to abortion protected under the New Hampshire Constitution. The House Judiciary Committee will have a hearing at 1 p.m. on January 22 in room 208 of the Legislative Office Building on CACR 14.

(Now’s a good time to look over the newest page of Leaven for the Loaf, with the information you need about giving testimony in Concord.)

The hearing has been scheduled for a room that has enough public seating for 20 people. In a pinch, if the committee in the adjacent room is not meeting, dividers can be folded back to double the size of the Judiciary room. In a real pinch, if the crowd size justifies it, the hearing can be moved to Representatives Hall.

I think a real pinch is in order.

What CACR 14 says

The text of the proposed constitutional amendment: “The right to make personal reproductive medical decisions is inviolate and fundamental to the human condition. Neither the State nor any political subdivision shall infringe upon or unduly inconvenience this right.”

If passed, this amendment would survive an overturned Roe decision. It would mean public funding of direct abortion under Medicaid and other tax-funded programs. It would mean an end to New Hampshire’s two hard-won regulations on abortion: parental notification and a ban on partial-birth abortion.

Don’t look to Governor Sununu – who identifies himself as pro-choice – to stop the measure. Constitutional amendments don’t go through the Governor’s office. If three-fifths of New Hampshire House members and three-fifths of the State Senators OK the measure, it will go on the general election ballot in November 2020. If two-thirds of the voters say yes, CACR 14 will be baked into the New Hampshire constitution.

What you can do

Show up. Get a carpool going. Announce the hearing to your life-affirming neighbors and the people at your church. Babysit for a parent who’d like to attend. Take your kids out of school for the day, and let me know if they get marked “unexcused.”

Testimony is optional. Be present. If you absolutely positively can’t make it, send your opinion of CACR 14 directly to the Judiciary Committee (email: HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us). Be brief, clear, and courteous – but don’t be silent.

The hearing will take place on the 47th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. That is not coincidental. Fortunately, the national March for Life is on the 24th this year. No one will have to choose between CACR 14 and a bus trip to Washington, DC.

Take a trip to Concord instead.

Stocking the Toolbox for 2019 Legislative Session

The 2019 New Hampshire legislative session will begin on January 2, less than two weeks away. It actually began when the reps were sworn in a few weeks ago, but the real fun begins in January. Get your communications toolkit ready. One important item to include: the state General Court web site (“General Court” is the formal name for our legislature, reps and senators alike). Head over to http://gencourt.state.nh.us.

Bookmark it. Study it. Find your reps on it. Make a note of their street addresses and email addresses and phone numbers. Poke around the General Court web site at your leisure and make yourself at home.

The web site for the New Hampshire Executive Council has not yet been updated with the winners of November’s election. Watch for the new names and contact information in January.

If you haven’t already done so, meet your state representatives and senator and executive councilor. Watch for them at local events, and introduce yourself. Let them get to know you. Make sure they know you’re a neighbor and you’re paying attention to what they do in office.

Make note of Governor Sununu’s office phone number: 603-271-2121.

I predicted a year ago that the New Hampshire House would lose 20 pro-life votes in the 2018 election. I was right about the election, and the losses were compounded by representatives who chose not to run again. (New Hampshire legislators are paid $100 per year, so making a living must take priority eventually.) All the more reason to keep handy the contact information for your newly-elected representatives. They might not be used to hearing from pro-life constituents. Prepare to expand their horizons.

Stocking the Toolbox: Get Ready for Next Legislative Session

I recently enjoyed the hospitality of Seacoast pro-lifers who asked me to join Rep. Kurt Wuelper to give a presentation about communicating with legislators. We covered social media, phone calls, letters, and the oldest social medium of all: one-on-one conversation.

Lots to unpack in that topic, for sure – and it was great to meet people ready to put into practice what they were hearing. I love working with pro-life Granite Staters who are ready to get involved in public policy or to sharpen the skills they’re already using.

The 2018 legislative session begins the first week in January, only seven weeks away. Get your communications toolkit ready. One important item to include: the state General Court web site (“General Court” is the formal name for our legislature, reps and senators alike). Head over to http://gencourt.state.nh.us.

Bookmark it. Study it. Find your reps on it. Poke around the site at your leisure and make yourself at home.

(And if I may be so bold, sign up for the emailed legislative updates I’ll be providing when the session begins.)

There’s more, but that’s a start.

Screenshot of the General Court web portal.

“Decisive strategies” needed, says Fr. Imbarrato

Father Stephen Imbarrato (at left, in black) leads prayer vigil outside Planned Parenthood in Manchester NH. Photo by Phyllis Woods.

Father Stephen Imbarrato of Priests for Life paid a visit to New Hampshire recently, leading a prayer vigil outside Manchester’s Planned Parenthood office before speaking to an attentive audience about effective pro-life action. “We aren’t doing enough: that has to be our starting point.”

Fr. Imbarrato, an EWTN television personality and longtime pro-life activist, was a guest of New Hampshire Right to Life. About 25 people joined him for prayer outside PP, at midday on a workday. A larger group attended his presentation afterward at a nearby retreat center.

I was drawn by Fr. Imbarrato’s story, and despite my differences with Priests for Life – more about that below – I found his message worth hearing.

The Foundation for His Work

He has a unique personal story, with an astounding array of experiences that leave each listener with something with which to identify. A priest who’s an adoptive father, grandfather, and father of an aborted child – thereby hangs a story, to which he referred only in passing in his New Hampshire appearance. We’re left with YouTube to lay the foundation for Fr. Imbarrato’s work.

Basics: “We’re Not Doing Enough”

In New Hampshire, Fr. Imbarrato began his presentation by referring to his Priests for Life colleague, Fr. Frank Pavone. “As he says, our work should begin with repentance. The biggest obstacles [to a culture of life] are within ourselves. We aren’t doing enough; that has to be our starting point.” Continue reading ““Decisive strategies” needed, says Fr. Imbarrato”

On Local Elections

In the New Hampshire House, a 400-member legislative body, vacancies aren’t all that unusual. Deaths, moves, the occasional resignation out of the blue: stuff happens, and 2017 has been a happenin’ year, with something like eight or nine House vacancies. A Senate seat has opened up as well.

Be aware if your district’s involved in a race. Don’t let someone get elected when you’re not looking. Be sure the candidates in your area know that they can’t escape the life issues.

At this moment, the Secretary of State’s web site lists six special elections coming up. One will be over by the time this is posted (you won’t be shocked to hear from me that a Democrat won a seat for a Concord district), but more will be added as new elections are scheduled.

Do you live in Manchester ward 8? You’ve got a state rep seat to fill. Grafton County’s district 9? Yup, you as well – and the Dem primary there was just won by a write-in candidate who’s not on the Secretary of State’s site yet. (He will be.) Other races scheduled so far include seats for Laconia and Belmont and Auburn/Chester/Sandown.

The open state senate seat was vacated by the untimely death of Senator Scott McGilvray. The election for the District 16 seat is July 25. This is your district if you live in Manchester wards 1, 2, or 12, or in Bow, Candia, Dunbarton, or Hooksett. (I’ll save for another day the tale behind the creation of that curiously-bordered district. Good story.)

To those voting in this race, I offer one observation, even though this is not my district and I have no party affiliation to promote. When you compare candidates, you’ll see that one of them is former senator David Boutin. In his previous service, Boutin was the only Manchester senator to stand up for First Amendment rights by voting against the buffer zone law.

He said at the time that he didn’t see a need for such a law, which seeks to restrict the First Amendment rights of peaceful pro-life witnesses outside abortion facilities. Ironically, the abortion providers who lobbied for the law have underscored Boutin’s point by their failure to use the law. No provider has posted a “buffer” yet.

Whatever your district, whoever’s running, check them out now. Don’t wait until they’re in office to find out where they stand.

What CACR 14 says

What you can do

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The Foundation for His Work

Basics: “We’re Not Doing Enough”

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