JURIST - Paper Chase: New Hampshire lawmakers override veto to ban 'partial-birth' abortion

[JURIST] The New Hampshire legislature on Wednesday passed a bill [HB 1679] that bans "partial-birth" abortions [JURIST backgrounder], overriding last Friday's veto by Governor John Lynch [official website]. The House of Representatives voted 240-118 and the Senate [official websites] 18-5 to override [Union leader report] the governor's veto. The bill would require a physician to determine whether the mother is endangered by any physical conditions and then to obtain a second opinion before "partial-birth" abortion procedures. The governor vetoed [Union leader report] the proposed law on Friday arguing that the purpose and scope of the bill was already covered under federal law, making the state legislation unnecessary. He also claimed that the strictness of the law would place the mother in an increased health risk in emergency cases.

In March, New Hampshire's House approved [JURIST report] another bill [HB 1660] that would prohibit abortion procedures after the twentieth week of pregnancy. The state's legislature had also overridden the governor's veto and approved a bill [HB 0329] that would require health care providers to notify parents or a judge 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor. In March, numerous states approved bills that would place additional restrictions on abortions. The Arizona State Senate [official website] approved [JURIST report] a similar bill [HB 2036 materials] as New Hampshire that would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A few days earlier Utah Governor Gary Herbert [official website] signed [JURIST report] a bill [HB 461] into law that extends the waiting period for women seeking abortion from 24 to 72 hours. The Idaho State Senate [official website] approved [JURIST report] a bill [SB 1349, PDF] that would require women seeking abortion to undergo an ultrasound. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell [official website] signed [JURIST report] a similar bill [HB 462] earlier that month.