Liberals and conservatives joined forces in the state Senate yesterday to reject a Democratic-backed bill that would require minors to have a counseling session before getting an abortion.

The measure, which failed 14-10, had split the state's pro-choice community, drawn criticism from the state's medical association and sparked opposition from pro-life organizations, such as the Catholic Diocese of Manchester. The president of the state's medical society testified that he feared the bill would set a precedent for state mandates in doctor-patient care. Pro-life groups, on the other hand, argued that legislators should instead reinstate the law that required parents be notified before their daughters have an abortion.

Sponsor Sen. Kathy Sgambati, a Tilton Democrat, said the bill was meant to create a standard to protect those teenagers who can't turn to their parents.

"For all its controversy, this bill had a very simple purpose: to safeguard the health and well-being of our young girls," she said. "The hearing brought support and criticism from pro-life and pro-choice groups. But in fact, this bill is directed at neither group. It is not about the great divide between us philosophically. It is only to ensure that care is provided to our teens and that support is given to them in times of crisis."

Opponents from both sides saw politics behind the bill, saying that Democratic leaders were seeking a way to insulate themselves from the political ramifications of their votes to repeal the state's parental notification law last year.

Sgambati rejected that talk yesterday.

"This isn't a middle ground for me. This isn't a compromise bill," she said. "I believe that we're moving towards better ground."

When it was first introduced, the bill's support looked strong, with six Democratic senators signed on as co-sponsors, including Majority Leader Joe Foster. Yesterday, besides its co-sponsors, it garnered only one additional Democratic vote - from Sen. David Gottesman - along with three Republicans. Senate President Sylvia Larsen of Concord voted against the measure.

Afterward, the Senate voted to send the bill back for more study on a voice vote.

Sen. Harold Janeway said it was a difficult decision to vote no. "My concern was about the precedent of the state telling providers, doctors and the others, just what they should do," said Janeway, a Webster Democrat. "What else are you going to tell doctors they should do?"

On the other side of the issue were those who support parental notification. Raymond Republican Sen. Jack Barnes attempted to scrap the bill and replace it with a parental notification statute. That failed, 15-9. Several Republicans said they thought mandated counseling might be a good idea, but they didn't want to trample parental rights.

"There can be no better counselor than parents," said Sen. Joe Kenney, a Union Republican.

Under Sgambati's bill, abortion providers would have to provide a counseling session to any client under the age of 17 and include talk about including the girl's parents in the decision. The counselor would have to discuss all the options facing a pregnant woman, including adoption, abortion and keeping the baby. The minor would have to sign paperwork saying she had the session.

By every account, abortion clinics already provide counseling as a matter of policy. The bill's sponsors praised the clinics - even revising the bill so that counselors at the Feminist Health Centers in Concord and Portsmouth would fit the guidelines - but said they may not know what goes on at private doctor's offices.

Sgambati said three women had contacted her about the bill to say they felt they'd had insufficient counseling before their abortions, telling her that they "went through this time with no one."

The bill split the state's pro-choice groups. Planned Parenthood supported the bill, with representatives saying it would only enshrine in law what they already do. On the other hand, NARAL Pro-Choice, the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, and the Feminist Health Centers in Concord and Portsmouth came out against the bill, saying it represented a slippery slope.

"It targeted abortion and abortion providers specifically," said NARAL Executive Director Grace LeClair, who watched the vote from the Senate gallery yesterday and said she wasn't sure what would happen until it was over.

Claire Ebel of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union watched, too. She noted the length of the roll call. "This was a tough vote," she said. "There were a lot of pauses before people cast their votes."