Leaders scrutinize late-term abortion ban
NEBRASKANS from page 1
voted three times to ban partial-birth
abortion. i
“This is about a civilized society
standing against a heinous procedure
that is used to kill a mostly bom child
- a procedure that, as even some
advocates of abortion rights have con
ceded, comes dangerously close to
murder,” he said in a statement
Tuesday.
Steven Emmert, president and
CEO of Planned Parenthood in
Omaha-Council Bluffs, said protect
ing a woman’s right to choose the pro
cedure protects her right to make the
best medical decision for herself.
He said it was an insult to women
to believe that anyone would have a
late-term abortion without having a
medical reason. It’s not a light deci
sion to make after months of carrying
a child, he said.
He also said a decision affecting
women’s health should not be made
by the government.
“Obviously a physician would
know better than a politician whiph
procedure would ensure the health
and well-being of a woman,” Emmert
said. “If the government has control
over your body, that should be a con
cern to all of us.”
Nancy Huston, president of the
Religious Coalition for Reproductive
Choice, agreed and said the decision
should be made by the woman, her
family, physician and clergy.
She also said that though the reli
gious right has been the most vocal on
the abortion issue, many religious
people believe abortion is a personal
choice.
Emmert and Huston both said the
law chips away at the rights granted to
women and their families by Roe vs.
Wade.
Sara Fiedler, public relations
chairwoman of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln Students for Life,
said she hoped a decision in favor of
Stenberg would open the door to
enact legislation to reverse Roe vs.
Wade.
“It’s like getting a foot in the
door,” Fiedler said. “We can go from
there.”
The procedure isunnecessary, and
the unborn child that late in the preg
nancy could probably survive on its
own, Fiedler said.
The method of abortion banned in
the Nebraska law is “dilation and
extraction,” which involves extracting
the fetus through the birth canal, cut
ting the skull and draining the con
tents.
One other, more common kind of
abortion, “dilation and evacuation,”
involves extraction of the fetus from
the uterus in pieces by using forceps.
It is done within the first 13 weeks of
pregnancy.
Carhart argued the 1997 Nebraska
law is worded so vaguely it potential
ly bans all abortions, making the law
unconstitutional.
Lt. Gov. Dave Maurstad said in a
live online forum moderated by the
Washington Post on Tuesday that he
supported the Nebraska law and
Stenberg.
Maurstad said he thought the lan
guage of the law was clear and under
stood by medical practitioners per
forming abortions.
“Only when segments are taken
and interpreted out of context does it
become vague in some people’s opin
ion,” he said.
Maurstad also said he thought the
attorney general’s campaign for the
Republican nomination for the U.S.
Senate had little influence on the case.
“In fact, he’s been criticized by his
rinal arguments presented
in execution method case
EXECUTION from page 1
Reilly said.
Also, Hohenstein testified
Tuesday that, to test the effectiveness
of electrocution, the Department of
Correctional Services used a 55-gal
lon drum of pure water. That is unrep
resentative of the human body during
an actual execution, Reilly said.
“I would say it’s a very naive con
cept cooked up by someone who is
not familiar with electricity,” Reilly
said.
“I don’t think this has been a sci
entific process where the electric
chair has evolved.”
Reilly said the Department of
Correctional Services, in its lack of
knowledge, also puts the inmate
through more pain and suffering than
is necessary.
Soucie said Nebraska law allows
for a continuous flow of electricity,
but in practice the department uses
high then low voltage and then takes a
break.
Donald Price, an expert on pain
from Florida who testified Tuesday,
said Nebraska is the only state that
— ^ i
paused between jolts of electricity.
Reilly’s testimony corroborated
with Tuesday’s testimony from John
Peter Wikswo, a physics professor
from Vanderbilt University, that when
a pause in the electrocution is made,
and the inmate is still alive, the pause
creates extreme pain for the inmate. *
One reason electrocution is
painful is because when electricity is
sent through the body, all the muscles
contract, including the respiratory
muscles, which results in suffocation.
If the inmate is still alive, the
inmate will gasp for air.
Robert Kirshner, a forensic
pathologist from Chicago who testi
fied Tuesday, said no evidence exists
that the inmate is unconscious during
electrocution, making it extremely
painful.
Price said the current going
through the inmate’s brain could also
trigger nerve sensors inside the brain
and intensify feelings of pain and
dread.
Warner said in closing arguments
that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld
death by electrocution three times.
“Death is swift,” Warner said.
” There are few
ways to die that
don’t involve
pain.”
Doug Warner
Deputy Scotts Bluff County Attorney
Soucie said he didn’t think the
department should deviate from the
Nebraska law, and by doing so it cre
ates a cruel and unusual punishment.
If electrocution is found constitu
tional, Mata could appear for sen
tencing May 11 in Scottsbluff.
If it is found unconstitutional,
Kirk Brown said, the state would
appeal the decision as far as it would
go
Either way the decision goes,
Brown said, he expects an appeal.
Hippe’s decision should come
within a week to 10 days, Soucie said.
c . f ;
nzzafeeds $1,000 f
into NU on Wheels
From staff reports \ *
A whole lot of pizza eat
ing paid off for NU on
Wheels on Tuesday.
Money raised during a
February pizza feed made its
way into the hands of the NU
on Wheels safe ride home
taxi cab program.
The Chancellor's
Leadership Class aiuFthe
Innocents Society turned
over a $1,000 check to NU
on Wheels coordinator
Molly Schmitz to help pay
for additional operating
costs.
Demand for the service,
which started last fall, has
led to increased costs. The
program only budgeted for
45 rides a week but has had
demand for as many as 80
rides a week, Schmitz said.
. This is the first year the
group has designated the
proceeds from the annual
event go to NU on Wheels,
said Stacey Duncan, mem
ber of the Innocents Society.
“We knew it was a good
program on campus,”
Duncan said. “We wanted
the money to go somewhere
where students could bene
fit.”
Both gfoups sold tickets
for the benefit and solicited
prizes from local businesses
to raffle.
Duncan said the campus
and the community respond
ed positively to the pizza
feed.
In the future, the groups
may donate their money to
NU on Wheels again,
Duncan said.
“It’s a good cause, and
students are supportive of it,”
she said.
Concerted
effort brings
Tutu to Lied
TUTU from page 1
After the end of apartheid, Tutu was appointed as
chairman of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. The commission was appointed by the
* government to look at the crimes that went on during
apartheid.
Hitchcock predicted Tutu would talk about his
experiences with the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission during his speech today. It is titled
“Crying in the Wilderness: Struggle for Justice in
South Africa.”
He also could talk about South Africa’s increas
ing democracy, which has included a constitution
supporting gay rights and womens rights, Hitchcock
said.
Hilliard said he expected the Lied Center to be
full and recommended people arrive early.
Doors to the Lied Center will open at 2:30 p.m.
The speech will also be broadcast on EduCable,
-QmafillL...
opponents for not campaigning,” he
said.
During the forum, Maurstad field
ed a question asking what he hoped to
accomplish through the court case.
“Our hope is that the law will be
able to remain on the books, and this
procedure not occur in our state,” he
said.
Maurstad was also scheduled to
appear on MSNBC’s “Hardball with
Chris Matthews,” “The Ollie North
Show,” “The Dan Lundren Show,”
and “The Roger Hedgecock Show.”
Stenberg answered questions to
Nebraska media over phone lines
from the country’s capital Tuesday.
He said he expects an opinion
from the high court before its summer
session begins, which is in late June.
H“-U
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