Panel advances anti-abortion bills Ne legislature

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100317/NEWS01/100319609#panel-advances-abortion-bills

By Martha Stoddard
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN - Two bills to tighten regulations on abortions in Nebraska advanced out of the Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

One would break new legal ground by banning almost all abortions after a fetus is capable of feeling pain. Legislative Bill 1103 would prohibit abortions at 20 weeks following fertilization. The bill, introduced by Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood of Norfolk, would draw the legal line a couple of weeks earlier than existing state law.

By traditional methods of dating pregnancies, that would be the equivalent of 22 weeks to 23 weeks gestational age.

Current state law bans abortions after a fetus reaches viability, which typically occurs at 23 weeks to 24 weeks of gestational age.

FULL story at link.

[uppityperson]

1. Update, clears 1st round to prohibit most abortions after 20 wks (thanks Steve)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4327049&mesg_id=4327049

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Paul Hammel

LINCOLN -- Nebraska lawmakers moved the state back into the spotlight of the national debate over abortion on Wednesday night. On a 38-5 vote, senators advanced a bill that would set a "bright line" when abortions could no longer be performed in the state.

Legislative Bill 1103, which was advanced to the second round of debate, would prohibit almost all abortions starting 20 weeks after fertilization — a point selected because that's when some experts believe a fetus begins to feel pain.

The bill, introduced by Speaker of the Legislature Sen. Mike Flood and 22 co-sponsors, is sure to spark a new legal battle over abortion rights that could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. That's where a Nebraska case over the federal ban on so-called partial birth abortions ended up in 2007, with the high court upholding the ban.

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But opponents of the measure, now known as the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," called it a "problem in search of a solution" because there were no reported abortions in Nebraska after 20 weeks during the past year.

Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, who led the opposition to LB 1103, said the bill was more about setting a new legal precedent, and putting politics ahead of a doctor's opinion. "This legislation ... is about pushing the envelope to eviscerate the rights of women," Conrad said. She and other opponents claimed the bill also didn't have broad enough exceptions to protect a woman's health, particularly their mental health.