establishing a committee to study what legal protections currently exist for the freedom of expression of pregnancy resource centers and whether further First Amendment protections are needed.
What changed between versions
The entire new RSA chapter 332-O was removed, which had prohibited state and local governments from requiring pregnancy resource centers to offer or refer for abortions, chemical abortion drugs, or contraception, from requiring them to post related advertisements, from prohibiting them from providing pregnancy-related care or prenatal/postnatal resources, and from interfering with their staffing decisions based on mission alignment.
A study committee was established to investigate what legal protections currently exist for freedom of expression of pregnancy resource centers and whether further First Amendment protections are needed. The committee consists of 2 senators (one minority) and 3 house members (one minority).
The House version's enforcement mechanism allowing pregnancy resource centers or aggrieved parties to sue the state or municipalities for injunctive relief, monetary damages, attorneys' fees, and court costs was removed.
Definitions for 'abortion,' 'chemical abortion,' 'contraception,' and 'pregnancy resource center' were removed along with the rest of the chapter.
The committee must hold its first meeting within 45 days of the effective date and must report its findings and any legislative recommendations by November 1, 2026 to the president of the senate, speaker of the house, both clerks, the governor, and the state library.
Committee members receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to committee duties.