        
March 2003
STATE LEGISLATIVE ALERT
ACTION NEEDED: MARCH 10th through early APRIL:
FIRST ALERT:
LB 602, a bill to ban both reproductive and research
cloning, was introduced by Sen. Adrian Smith of Gering. The
bill was heard in Judiciary Committee on Feb. 20th and this past
week was PRIORITZED by Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Columbus. Controversial
bills which are prioritized will be the only ones to receive floor
debate this session.
A vote on LB 602, as well as other research bans, LB 512
(fetal tissue) and LB 566 (embryonic stem cell) should take place in
the Judiciary Committee in the next few weeks. We need these
bills to be voted OUT of committee; and most particularly, for LB
602 to come out as it stands the best chance of being debated and
voted on by the entire body.
ACTION NEEDED FOR THOSE WHO HAVE STATE SENATORS ON
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: If your state senator is
a member of the Judiciary Committee, please write him a brief note
immediately and send it.
SUGGESTED MESSAGE: (Feel free to put into your
own words) Please vote LB 602 and the other research bans (LB
512 and LB 566) out of Judiciary Committee and to the floor for
debate. I especially would like to see a ban on cloning pass
this year. Thank you.
THE MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ARE:
Dist. #4: Senator Kermit Brashear, Chairman
Dist. #39: Senator Dwite Pedersen, Vice-Chair
Dist. #29: Senator Mike Foley
Dist. #18: Senator Mick Mines
Dist. #3: Senator Ray Mossey
Dist. #31: Senator Mark Quandahl
Dist. #19: Senator Gene Tyson
The mailing address is: Senator_______,
Dist. #___, State Capitol
P.O. Box 94604
Lincoln, Ne. 68509-4604
SECOND ALERT:
Write a note thanking Senator Adrian Smith (Dist.
#48) for introducing LB 602 (the cloning ban) and Senator Arnie
Stuthman (Dist. #22) for prioritizing LB 602. You do not
have to live in their districts to thank them. Use the P.O.
Box mailing address above to write to them.
January 2001
 
This is tissue. This is not.
An Important Message To
Pro-Life Nebraskans:
LB 462, a bill to ban
the use of aborted babies for medical research, has
been introduced in the 2001 session of the Nebraska
Legislature. It was introduced by Senator Dwite Pedersen
of Omaha, who vowed to bring this issue back before the
Legislature this year after a similar bill lacked the
votes to end a filibuster last year.
Nebraska Right to Life
and other pro-life groups are making the passage
of LB 462 their top legislative priority. A "compromise"
bill, LB 304, has been offered by Senator Chris Beutler. We
do not support LB 304 as it does nothing to ban the
state from using aborted babies for research
As you know, it was
revealed in November, 1999 that the University of
Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has been using aborted
baby brains since 1993 for experimentation into
neurological diseases such as AIDS, Alzheimer’s and
Parkinson’s. UNMC had been obtaining aborted baby
brain tissue from LeRoy Carhart, the Bellevue, Nebraska
partial-birth abortionist up until September, 2000. At
that time, UNMC found a new provider of aborted brains in
the University of Washington at Seattle. It is unclear at
this time (Jan. 2001), whether LeRoy Carhart is also
still providing aborted baby brains. The following are
points are from a summary distributed by Senator Pedersen
when he introduced LB 462.
"LB 462 is intended to create a
‘wall of separation’ between the State of
Nebraska and the abortion business. It will prohibit the
use of human fetal tissue from an induced abortion by
public employees of state or local government or with
state or local facilities or funds.
LB 462 will also create a
criminal penalty for the buying or selling of human fetal
tissue for valuable consideration or solicitation of an
abortion for purposes of obtaining tissue.
LB 462 states that the
use of human fetal tissue by the state or its
instrumentalities has the following impact:
--It creates an ‘entanglement’
between the state and abortion providers due to the need
to develop relationships for a supply of human fetal
tissue.
--It makes the state
dependent on the existence of future induced abortions to
supply human fetal tissue for its use.
--It is contrary to the
state’s longstanding public policy of protecting
unborn life whenever possible."
-WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP PASS LB
462 AND GET THE STATE OUT OF THE ABORTED FETAL TISSUE
BUSINESS?
**We currently have commitments from a
majority of state senators to support the ban. These
commitments were either made last year during the debate
on the previous ban bill or through their answers on our
NRL PAC survey in 2000 regarding the aborted fetal tissue
ban question.
**First the bill will have a public hearing
and then must be voted out of committee. Once LB 462 hits
the floor for full debate, a filibuster by the opposing
side will ensue. It takes 33 votes to break a filibuster
and we are almost there. We need every vote possible.
**That is why it is so
important that every state senator be contacted by his or
her pro-life constituents about supporting LB 462.
**Attached are two
postcards for you and your spouse or other family member
to write a personal note to your senator. Be courteous,
write your personal feelings about aborted baby brains
being used at UNMC and then ask your senator to please
vote for LB 462.
**Write your postcards
right away, put 20 cents postage on them and write in the
name of your senator on the card. It is already addressed
to his or her post office box at the State Capitol. If
you don’t know who your state senator is; refer to
the list of senators with their home addresses (Requires Adobe Reader) and
districts or call your county clerk at the courthouse.
**Read the excellent article attached, reprinted from Statepaper.com and
written by Greg Schleppenbach, a lobbyist for the
Nebraska Catholic Conference. Greg exposes the moral
dilemma created when research has no boundaries.
If you would like
additional postcard packets to distribute in your
community, please call or write:
NEBRASKA
RIGHT TO LIFE
3341 PIONEERS BLVD STE 4
LINCOLN, NE 68506
(402) 489-4802
(402) 489-6042 FAX
EMAIL: info@nebraskartl.org
THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING
OUT AGAINST THIS ATROCITY !
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