Abortion lawsuit testimony

Abortion lawsuit testimony
LINCOLN, Neb. -- In a major victory for lawyers fighting a federal ban on a type of abortion, a doctor testifying for the government acknowledged that a main part of the procedure may be necessary in other types of abortion.
Dr. Elizabeth Shadigian, an obstetrician and gynecologist from the University Of Michigan, made the statement to a judge Thursday after she finished testifying in a trial challenging the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
The law, signed last year by President Bush, bars a procedure doctors call "intact dilation and extraction," or D & amp;X, and that opponents call partial-birth abortion. During the procedure, generally performed in the second trimester, a fetus is partially removed from the womb and its skull is punctured or crushed.
The law has not been enforced because judges in Lincoln, New York and San Francisco agreed to hear evidence in three simultaneous nonjury trials on whether the ban violates the Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf asked Shadigian what would happen if complications arose during a more common abortion procedure called "dilation and evacuation," or D & amp;E, which is not covered by the ban.
Shadigian acknowledged that collapsing the skull might be necessary during D & amp;Es in some cases, such as when the woman is hemorrhaging.
Sharon calls for vote onplan for Gaza withdrawal
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called for a referendum within his Likud Party on his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, Israeli officials said today.
Sharon's request, lodged with the party Thursday night, means the vote will be held within the next three weeks under the ruling party's bylaws.
Sharon had initially said he would not call for the referendum until after he returned from a trip next week to Washington, where he will meet with President Bush in an effort to garner American backing for his plan.
He decided to speed up the timetable to keep the momentum going from his Washington trip and to make it harder for the opposition within his hard-line party to organize, political sources said.
Sharon has said he will honor the outcome of the referendum. A recent poll showed a slim majority of Likud members supporting his proposal.
Pension contributions
WASHINGTON -- Employer sponsors of pension plans heaved a collective sigh of relief with congressional passage of a bill that could allow them to divert $80 billion otherwise heading for pension contributions into new investment and hiring.
"It is a responsible solution that will preserve and protect jobs and help spur our nation's economic recovery," said John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable, after the 78-19 Senate vote Thursday that sends the legislation to the president. The House passed the bill last week, and the president could sign it as early as this weekend.
The measure will for two years change the way single-employer pension sponsors calculate their contributions, replacing a formula based on the 30-year Treasury bond, which the government stopped issuing in 2001. That formula forced companies to make artificially high contributions, causing widespread economic hardships and threatening the future of some retirement plans.
Several major union groups also urged quick passage of the legislation out of concern that financially strapped companies would freeze or abandon their pension programs.
9-year-old accusedof stealing rabbit
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. -- A 9-year-old girl accused of stealing a rabbit and $10 from a neighbor's home was arrested, handcuffed and questioned at a police station.
A Pasco County sheriff's deputy found the black-and-white rabbit, named Oreo, hopping around in the girl's living room, according to the arrest report. She was read her rights and taken away in the back of a patrol car.
The girl began to cry during questioning Tuesday. She admitted taking the rabbit belonging to another child, but denied taking two $5 bills and some change, according to reports.
Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll defended the arrest, and said if the victim of a crime wants an arrest, deputies are required to act if there is enough evidence.
Lori Ventura, the mother of the child who owns the rabbit, said the girl has been involved in other incidents and needs help.
The deputy could have taken a report and referred the charges to the state attorney, said Pasco-Pinellas Public Defender Bob Dillinger.
The girl was released to her mother from a juvenile assessment center about an hour after her arrest, which she said was scary.
Associated Press