Nebraska abortion law opens new front in US debate

The state of Nebraska has opened a new front in America's war over abortion, passing a law that shifts the emphasis away from the viability of the unborn baby to survive outside the womb and on to a previously legally untested concept of foetal pain. Two laws signed by the governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, yesterday represent a bold attempt by local anti-abortionists to undermine the constitutional right to an abortion established in the supreme court ruling Roe v Wade in 1973. Pro-abortion groups denounced the legislation as the most extreme attack yet on women's reproductive rights. The foetal-pain law bans abortions in Nebraska beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy. It cites claims by some doctors that by that stage foetuses show signs that they avoid certain stimuli, indicating that they feel pain, though the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists insists there is no evidence to support that. Only in cases of a pregnant woman's imminent death or substantial physical harm would exceptions be allowed. read the rest here