The New Hampshire legislature this month defeated a bill that could have stripped state funding for women’s health centers throughout the state.

The bill, HB 677, would have barred organizations that perform abortions or refer patients to other abortion providers from receiving any taxpayer money. The federal Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal money for abortions, but some states use public money for abortion-related services.

Public money in New Hampshire is used to pay for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest. HB 677, introduced this year by state Rep. Warren Groen (R-Rochester), would have gone a step further by stripping all public money to organizations that offer abortions, even though such money isn’t used for abortions directly.

Groen introduced similar legislation, HB 228, in 2011. That bill passed the state house but was rejected handily in the senate.

“In my opinion, [these clinics] are hardly a good choice for health care unless your definition of health care is killing a child,” Groen said of the reasoning behind the bills.

As of 2011, there were 13 facilities in New Hampshire that provided a range of medical and sexual health services, including sexually transmitted infection screening and treatment, family planning, and abortion. Those clinics, five of which are Planned Parenthoods, rely on state money to run.

HB 677 was defeated earlier this month by a bipartisan 216-142 vote in a house committee. Both the state house and senate are majority Republican.