Pro-abortion Democrats blocked a Nebraska bill Wednesday that would protect unborn babies from brutal dismemberment abortions.
To overcome Democrats’ filibuster, the Dismemberment Abortion Ban (LB 814) needs at least 33 votes, and state Sen. Suzanne Geist, of Lincoln, who sponsored the bill, said they do not have quite enough, the World-Herald reports.
On Wednesday, state lawmakers spent three hours debating the pro-life legislation. The bill would prohibit abortion procedures that use clamps, forceps or similar instruments to remove pieces of a living unborn baby from his/her mother’s womb. These abortions typically are referred to as dilation and evacuation, or D&E, and are common in the second trimester when unborn babies are nearly fully developed. The ban does not apply to unborn babies who are already dead. Doctors who violate the ban would face fines and felony charges.
“I think it’s a fitting time to ask ourselves what’s the value of life,” Geist said during the debate. “LB814 would end the practice of killing a live baby in the second trimester of pregnancy by pulling off its arms and legs piece by piece until it either bleeds to death, its spinal cord is cut or its skull is crushed. It’s an unthinkable way to dispose of a child.”
She said she plans to work hard during the last nine days of the legislative session to convince lawmakers to support the life-saving measure, according to the report.
Meanwhile, pro-abortion Democrats slammed the bill as a waste of time and a violation of women’s freedom.
“We aren’t truly free unless we can make decisions about our own lives, our own bodies,” said state Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha.
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Earlier this month, Hunt promised to use every devious trick up her sleeves to fight against the bill, including a filibuster.
“I’m going to pull every shenanigan out of my sleeve to stop this bill. And that might not be something you like but when you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes,” she said.
The bill would protect unborn babies from barbaric, torturous deaths, a former abortionist and retired OB-GYN Dr. Kathi Aultman told the state legislature in February, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
Aultman, who later became pro-life, described how she used to abort unborn babies in this way. She said she would drain the amniotic fluid from the womb and then use a clamp to pull the baby’s body apart and remove the baby in pieces from the womb, according to the report.
Here’s more from the newspaper:
When she couldn’t get anything else, she would grasp and crush the chest and then the head of the fetus, she said.
The bill, she said, would allow D&E abortion as long as the physician would cause fetal demise before starting the procedure.
“I support this bill, because it prevents the infliction of needless pain and suffering on innocent human beings and preserves the integrity of the medical profession,” she said.
According to the World-Herald, some lawmakers expressed concerns about a legal challenge, but state Sen. Andrew LaGrone of Gretna said he believes the Nebraska legislation is unique and could be upheld.
Gov. Pete Ricketts, a pro-life Republican, supports the legislation.
The state health department reported 32 D&E abortions in 2018.
Dismemberment is a common second-trimester abortion method in which an unborn baby is typically pulled apart limb from limb while their heart is still beating. In the second trimester, unborn babies are nearly fully formed, and strong scientific evidence indicates they can feel pain.
Eleven states have passed laws to ban dismemberment abortions: Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky and North Dakota. However, the abortion industry is challenging many of them in court.
Action: Call or email Nebraska state senators and tell them to end the atrocity of dismemberment abortion.
