Montana: Free Speech Upheld

THOMAS MORE LAW CENTER, March 28 — A Montana federal judge signed an order upholding the First Amendment right of pro-life demonstrators to carry signs of aborted babies.

Robert Muise, the attorney handling this case, said, “Abortion supporters want these signs taken out of the public square, and too often the police and city attorneys are willing accomplices.”

Last August a group of pro-lifers were picketing on a public sidewalk outside of a Planned Parenthood facility in Great Falls, Montana, with signs displaying images of aborted babies.

According to an assistant city attorney, the signs were a “public nuisance.” Rather than risk arrest and have their signs confiscated, the pro-lifers left the area. The Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, argued the case.

Bishop Defends Abortion Display

IDAHO STATESMAN, March 28 — Bishop Michael Driscoll of Boise City has defended a pro-life display featuring photos comparing abortion to the Nazi holocaust and the lynching of blacks.

Rabbi Daniel Fink of Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel in Boise said the display trivializes the suffering of blacks and Jews and contributes to an environment of terror.

In his reply Bishop Driscoll said, “I have not come to the conclusion that the exhibit is ‘hateful, bigoted and unjust.’”

Kansas Approves Cloning Ban

ASSOCIATED PRESS, March 27 — The Kansas state House approved bills banning human cloning and making it a crime to destroy human embryos for research purposes.

The votes were 90-32 on the cloning measure and 78-44 on the embryo research legislation, sending the measures to the Senate.

The cloning bill would make it a felony to knowingly attempt, participate or perform human cloning, or to ship or knowingly receive the product of human cloning for any purpose. Violators could be fined $100,000 to $250,000.

Neb.: Abortion at Record Lows

LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR, March 26 — Fewer than 4,000 women got abortions in Nebraska last year, according to a report by the state Health and Human Services System.

The last time that happened was in 1976 when there were 3,977 abortions reported in Nebraska. Last year, 3,982 were reported.

Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life said, “My personal feeling is that after 29 years and over 40 million abortions, we're talking about a lot of people who have been hurt by abortions.”

That accumulated experience, she believes, is teaching young people abortion isn't the answer. The largest drop in abortions last year was among teen-agers at 7.1% followed by women over age 30 at 6.9%. Women in their 20s had the smallest decline in abortions, averaging about 3%.