Nebraska Legislature Considers Justifiable Homicide of Abortion Doctors

[shcrane71]

[link:http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/29/nebraska-legislature-considers-justifiable-homicide-abortion-doctors|]

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/29/nebraska-legislature-considers-justifiable-homicide-abortion-doctors

Last week, the Nebraska Legislature heard testimony for a bill that would give a pregnant woman the right to use deadly force in the defense of her fetus. It would also give a third party the right to use deadly force to protect a fetus. This bill is a similar, albeit more expansive, version of the South Dakota justifiable homicide bill that was introduced last session and recently shelved.

Senator Mark Christensen introduced the legislation. He stated in committee that the bill would “make it clear that an individual may use force to protect an unborn child under the same circumstances that an individual may use force to protect any third person as currently provided under the law”.

My insights: I think the time has come to have more than one legislative body in Nebraska. There needs to be more checks and balances.

More of the article:

Senator Council, a member of the Judiciary committee that heard Senator Christensen’s bill introduction stated:

I guess I'm just curious as to any county attorney in Nebraska...if a woman was being threatened and if she happened to be pregnant at the time, if the woman was being threatened to the point where she herself could use deadly force to protect herself, why would it change by virtue of the fact that she was carrying a child? I mean, self-defense is self-defense in that scenario, because the unborn child is not going to be charged with the homicide, it's going to be the mother. And I don't understand why there is a concern that, in a situation like that, the mother would not have a recognized self-defense under current law?

Way to point out the obvious, Senator Council! Good to see there is some sanity still remaining among Nebraska legislators. Senator Council goes on to state:

Under your amendment, a person who believes that someone who was assisting a woman to obtain an abortion is threatening the life of the unborn child and would use that as a self-defense argument I am certainly aware of the case where that argument was made by an individual who shot and killed a doctor who was known to provide abortion services. And his self-defense argument was: I was protecting the unborn child, and I have a right if I believe that unborn child's life is being threatened.

That doctor that Senator Council is referring to is Dr. George Tiller, who was assassinated by Scott Roeder. Mr. Roeder’s council argued that his defendant believed that deadly force was necessary to stop Dr. Tiller from providing abortion care in Wichita, Kansas. Roeder believed that he needed to intervene to “save the unborn”.

[DefendUrRights2]

1. Wish we had some in Washington

[elleng]

2. Shouldn't be necessary, but we've got COURTS!

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/abortionuslegal/p/roe_v_wade.htm

[tledford]

3. Seems to support justifiable homicide for legistlators. eom

[Ilsa]

4. Amen.

[DearAbby]

5. Face palm...