Protecting Minors: Parental Consent for Minor Transport

HB191 adds a new section, RSA 633:4-a, to New Hampshire's criminal code chapter on restraint-related offenses. The American Council urges every legislator to find a path to passage for this bill before the session closes. Parents bear a sacred and legally recognized responsibility for the welfare of their children, and the law should protect that relationship from being bypassed by third parties acting without their knowledge or approval.

The core offense, established in Paragraph I, is a class A misdemeanor. A person commits it by intentionally transporting an unemancipated minor within this state for the purpose of obtaining a surgical procedure for the minor or a termination of the minor's pregnancy, without the express written consent of the minor's parent or guardian. Each of those qualifiers matters: the transport must be intentional, it must occur within New Hampshire, the triggering purpose is a surgical procedure or a pregnancy termination (either one satisfies the condition), and the absence of express written parental or guardian consent is what makes it criminal. This is not a broad prohibition on travel; it is a narrow, targeted offense with intent as its linchpin.

Paragraph II escalates the penalty to a class B felony for a person who is convicted of violating this section and has previously been convicted of two or more offenses under Paragraph I. As drafted, it is not entirely clear whether the current conviction triggering the felony enhancement must itself be a Paragraph I offense or whether any conviction under the section suffices. The most natural reading is that the current offense is a Paragraph I violation, but the text could also be read more broadly. This ambiguity does not undermine the bill's core purpose, and we support its passage; but the legislature may wish to confirm the intended scope before enrollment.

Paragraph III defines the protected class. The bill text reads that an unemancipated minor is any minor child under 18 years of age "who is not married or has not by court order otherwise been freed from the care, custody, and control of his or her parents." Because the definition joins two negative conditions with "or," the most natural reading is that a minor satisfies the definition if either negative holds, meaning a minor would qualify as unemancipated so long as at least one of those conditions remains true. The text is genuinely ambiguous on whether a minor must be both unmarried and without a freeing court order to fall outside the definition, or only one. The legislature may wish to clarify whether the intent is that both conditions of emancipation must be met before the protections cease to apply.

Paragraph IV enumerates five categories of persons to whom the offense does not apply. First, the minor's own parents or legal guardian are fully exempt, this bill targets third parties, not parents acting on behalf of their own children. Second, any person who has obtained written consent from the unemancipated minor's parent or legal guardian is exempt; the offense is eliminated entirely once proper consent is in hand. Third, common carriers transporting passengers in the course and scope of their business are exempt, so rideshare drivers, bus operators, and similar services acting in their ordinary commercial capacity face no liability. Fourth, ambulance drivers or operators and any corresponding emergency medical services personnel acting within the course and scope of their duties are exempt. Fifth, a person who is not emergency medical services personnel transporting an unemancipated minor in the case of a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention is likewise exempt. That final exemption is limited to transport in a qualifying medical emergency; it does not extend to any bystander or responder in any other circumstance. Together, these exemptions remove liability wherever consent exists, wherever a professional duty applies, or wherever a true emergency requiring immediate medical attention leaves no time for parental contact.

Paragraph V addresses a predictable defense argument and forecloses it explicitly: the unemancipated minor's own consent is not a defense to prosecution under this section. This is an essential provision. Without it, a third party could claim the minor's agreement as a justification. The legislature has correctly recognized that minors cannot, by their consent alone, waive the protections this law is designed to provide.

The bill takes effect 60 days after passage. A fiscal note was prepared by the Legislative Budget Assistant, but it is keyed to an earlier House-amended version of the bill that covered criminal and civil penalties for transport to obtain a surgical procedure without parental permission; it does not price the current Senate-amended text. With that caveat, the fiscal note reflects indeterminate expenditure impacts on the state, counties, and municipalities, primarily through potential effects on prosecution, incarceration, probation, and parole costs. No appropriation is made by the bill itself.

The American Council believes parents have a God-given and legally established role in guiding decisions about their children's medical care. HB191 does not take that role away from anyone who is entitled to exercise it, it simply ensures that third parties cannot remove a child from that protective relationship without parental knowledge and written approval. HB191 has passed both chambers but is currently stalled in a procedural disagreement over the Senate amendment, with the Senate having refused to accede to a House request for a Committee of Conference. The session calendar is now the binding constraint. We urge every New Hampshire legislator to work urgently toward a resolution that puts this bill on the Governor's desk.