Nebraska: Neb. doctor plans new abortion clinics in 3 states
BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska doctor who has been at the center of the nation’s debate on late-term abortions said he plans to open clinics in Indiana, Iowa and near Washington, D.C.
Dr. LeRoy Carhart told Omaha television station KETV and the Omaha World-Herald newspaper that Nebraska’s new restrictions on abortions led to his decision.
The new law bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on the idea of fetal pain. That’s a departure from the standard of viability — generally considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks — established by the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade.
Carhart, whose Nebraska clinic in Bellevue offers late-term abortions, said a legal challenge to the law is being prepared.
“I believe that the laws in Nebraska are not constitutional,” Carhart said. “In the meantime, I need a place for women to go.”
Carhart has challenged other abortion laws before the U.S. Supreme Court, and his backer, the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, hinted in an April letter to Gov. Dave Heineman that it would be involved in a challenge to the latest law.
Mississippi: Football player’s pink cleats spur suit
MENDENHALL, Miss. (AP) — Attorneys for a Mendenall High football player has sued the school district after being kicked off the team for wearing pink cleats to practice.
Deputy Superintendent Tom Duncan tells The Clarion-Ledger that the problem wasn’t the color of Coy Sheppard’s shoes. He said the student was kicked off the team for ignoring the orders of his coach and assistant coaches to take off the shoes.
“It had absolutely nothing to do with lack of support for breast cancer awareness,” he said.
Sheppard filed suit last week in Simpson County Chancery Court. The lawsuit asks the court to reinstate Sheppard to the football team and clear his disciplinary record. The suit also asks for any monetary damages to be awarded to the American Cancer Society.
School board President Larry Cockrell said he hopes for a resolution of the dispute that would return the boy to the team.
According to the lawsuit, which gives only one side of the legal argument, football coach Chris Peterson dressed down Sheppard, the 17-year-old senior kicker, during an Oct. 8 football game for wearing pink cleats in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
When Sheppard arrived at practice the next week wearing the shoes, Peterson dismissed him from the squad, said Oliver Diaz Jr., an attorney representing Sheppard.
Because students in the Simpson County School District earn academic credit for participating in sports, Diaz said the dismissal has put Sheppard’s future at the school in question.
“His graduation may be in jeopardy for something as silly as not being allowed to wear pink cleats,” he said.
Duncan said the coach told Sheppard he would be allowed to make up his lost PE credit and graduate on time, “so that has never been an issue.”
Diaz said Sheppard had worn cleats of other colors in the past without incident and a number of players wore pink athletic gear to the Oct. 8 game.
Diaz said Coy Sheppard has apologized and promised to leave the pink shoes at home, but so far school officials have not budged.
Mississippi: Attorney: Video shows whipping coach players
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Three Murrah High School basketball players have sued their coach and the school system over alleged whippings.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Jackson by attorney Lisa Ross.
Ross contends that a video clip shows a basketball player bent over as a man swings a belt, hitting him three times. The video was made available to Jackson media outlets.
Ross says the man in the video, which was recorded on a cell phone, is boys basketball coach Marlon Dorsey.
In the lawsuit, which gives only one side of the legal argument, the players contend they were physically and verbally abused by the coach.
Dorsey, who has admitted to whipping players, has been on leave since late October. On Oct. 28, school and district officials met with about 30 parents about the matter, but there has been no official word from JPS on Dorsey’s status.
A statement from the school district says the personnel matter cannot be discussed “because of employee confidentiality rights.”
Corporal punishment has been banned in Jackson Public Schools since 1991. District policy says violation of that rule is punishable by disciplinary action such as suspension without pay and termination.
The lawsuit alleges a violation of the basketball players’ constitutional rights, and accuses the defendants of invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
In a statement give The Clarion-Ledger earlier, Dorsey said, “I took it upon myself to save these young men from the destruction of self and what society has accepted and become silent to the issues our students are facing on a daily basis. I am deeply remorseful of my actions to help our students.”
In a letter addressed to parents and others, Dorsey said the punishment was issued for a variety of reasons, including disrespecting teachers, stealing cell phones, leaving campus without permission, being late for class and not following the dress code.
Dorsey told the newspaper that he has been suspended with pay.
This is Dorsey’s first year as head coach at Murrah; he was an assistant coach last year.
