(Click here for Acrobat PDF version of this press release)
New Hampshire Right to Life
For Immediate Release: May 16, 2003
Contact: Ed Holdgate, NHRTL President, (603) 626-7950
Let’s Not Be Frank
Let’s not be Frank because Sen. Frank Sapareto, R-Derry, has
flip-flopped
on two written campaign pledges he made in July of 2002 – less than a year ago.
Sapareto voted Tuesday with a 3 to 2 majority to render meaningless
HB-763 seeking parental notification before a minor may obtain an abortion.
"It is impossible to validly reconcile Sen. Sapareto’s Senate
Judiciary
vote with his NHRTL-PAC survey return," asserted NHRTL
President Ed Holdgate. Sapareto checked ‘SUPPORT’ on
survey question #6 which asked legislators about "requiring mandatory
parent/guardian notification of abortion for minors (with
judicial bypass)." A copy of Sapareto’s survey response is on-line at:
http://www.nhrtl.org/legislation/nhlegislation/2003/index.html#Sapareto
and it appears at the bottom of this page.
"Worse," noted Holdgate, "Sapareto marked that he ‘AGREED’
with
the survey pledge, ‘I will do whatever I can within the power of my office
to restore the right to life for all innocent human beings from the
moment of their conception.’" NH State Rep. and NHRTL Legislative
Director Kathleen Souza reports that Sapareto wants an exception for
rape in the bill. Frankly, when the statement says "all" humans, it really
means "all". "Doesn’t Sapareto want to mandate that parents be notified
if their daughters are raped?," asked Souza.
In fact,
survey responses are all viewable on-line for the following 12 of 24
Senators who check-marked support for mandatory parental notification
with judicial bypass:
| Sen. Carl Johnson |
Sen. Joseph Kenney |
Sen. Robert Boyce |
| Sen. Robert Flanders |
Sen. Sheila Roberge |
Sen. Jane O’Hearn |
| Sen. Robert Clegg |
Sen. Ted Gatsas |
Sen. Jack Barnes |
| Sen. Andy Martel |
Sen. Frank Sapareto |
Sen. Russ Prescott |
You can
see copies of the survey responses from the above Senators on the
mentioned webpage. Since NHRTL-PAC circulated some 35,000 voter guides
in 2002, we frankly hope all (and we mean "all") legislators will honor
their survey
pledges made to the pro-life voters.
All amendments to HB-763 should be rejected, and the
Senate should pass
the original House version promoted by pro-life Gov. Craig Benson.
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