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HB 1283 Update

On Thursday, March 21, the New Hampshire House voted 179-176 to pass HB 1283, the bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Thank you to all who have helped in the effort to show how passing HB 1283 would be harmful to the common good. Obviously, this was an exceedingly close vote, and a shift in only two votes would have killed the bill. Fortunately, the bill still is not done in the House. On Friday, March 22, a member of the House filed a notice asking for reconsideration of the vote. This means that there will be another vote on the bill on Thursday, March 28 if first the House approves the motion to reconsider. We will keep you posted.

The House Judiciary Committee voted on March 6 to recommend that the New Hampshire House of Representatives ought to pass HB 1283 (Assisted Suicide) by a vote of 13 to 7. 

In order to help defeat this bill, the Diocese is working alongside the NH Coalition for Suicide Prevention, a diverse group that includes health care providers, veterans, and people with disabilities and their advocates. The Church teaches that suicide is always a tragedy and that a caring community should respond with hospice and palliative care to better meet the needs of those facing the end of life.

Thank you to all who signed in to oppose HB 1283, or contacted a legislator, or came to the HB 1283 House Judiciary Committee hearing on February 7. The final tally of the remote sign-in portal: 658 in support, 1125 opposed!

You can view the hearing here: House Judiciary (02/07/2024) - YouTube

What can you do now?

Please call your House members, and respectfully share your opposition to HB 1283. Ask them to stand up for people with disabilities, veterans, young people, and our seniors.

The New Hampshire House of Representatives -  Contact Information

Stay tuned to this webpage for further information.

DOWNLOAD the flyer on how to stop state-approved assisted suicide


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