Last week, the New Hampshire House approved a ban on taxpayer dollars being given to Planned Parenthood or any other abortion provider. The vote, 207-147, was the results of House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) getting personally involved after a committee voted 12-5 to recommend killing the bill. O’Brien co-authored a floor amendment that the House endorsed, which allowed hospitals to use public funds to perform emergency abortions and would let abortion providers set up separate businesses to continue getting family planning money.

“I do not ever want to contribute to the stopping of a baby’s heart with my tax dollars,” said Rep. Susan DeLemus (R-Rochester).

“The House-passed bill ensures that taxpayer funds are prioritized to entities dedicated to providing comprehensive health care to women, not abortion,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, the group that helped author the bill’s language. “This is a great victory in what has become a nationwide battle to stop taxpayer funding of abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood.”

Last year, the state’s Executive Council voted not to renew contracts with Planned Parenthood, but the Obama administration, at the urging of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Gov. John Lynch, provided direct federal funding to New Hampshire Planned Parenthood amounting to $1.8 million.

The bill will now head to the NH Senate.

Sources: OneNewsNow, Nashua Telegraph