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LINCOLN — Speakers at a rally of abortion opponents said Saturday they believe legislation that would ban most late-term abortions in Nebraska can pass constitutional muster.
State Attorney General Jon Bruning told the rally at the State Capitol that he would eagerly defend such a measure if it became law.
“It's constitutional, and we'll defend it to the Supreme Court if necessary,” he said. “We'll make sure that it's great law.”
Mary Spaulding Balch, a lobbyist for the National Right to Life Committee, told the crowd that Nebraska will be in the forefront of the movement against abortion if the state passes the Abortion Pain Prevention Act.
“If you do this, you'll put Carhart out of business,” Balch said, referring to Dr. LeRoy Carhart of Bellevue, an abortion provider.
Police and organizers agreed that about 5,000 people attended the annual Walk for Life to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.
Protesters rallied at the Capitol, then walked to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.
Marcher Joe Vinton of Firth, Neb., who has participated in the protest for five years, said he was impressed and encouraged by Saturday's turnout. “Thank God people are coming forward,” he said. “This is hopeful.”
About eight supporters of abortion rights also showed up Saturday. Some said it was important to remind marchers of opposing viewpoints. Others said they feared a return to the days of illegal, coat-hanger abortions that threaten women's lives.
“We're not as outnumbered as it looks today,” said Jackson Meredith of Lincoln.
State Sen. Mike Flood, speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, has said he introduced the abortion bill to prevent Carhart from becoming the main provider of late-term abortions in the region.
Carhart has said he probably would step into the void left by the slaying of his friend, Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kan., a provider of late-term abortions. But Carhart said he would perform those procedures only in cases where the fetus could not survive outside the womb.
Legislative Bill 1103 would ban almost all abortions in Nebraska after a fetus reaches 20 weeks.
The only exceptions would be to save a woman's life or to “avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.” Flood has said he believes fetuses feel pain at 20 weeks.
Abortions past 20 weeks already are rare in Nebraska and nationally. There were none in the state in 2008, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. National statistics show that 1.4 percent of all U.S. abortions fell into that category.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9581, leslie.reed@owh.com
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