Initiative would direct state to err on the side of life.
A ballot initiative in Nebraska addresses humane care for people who are incapacitated. The goal is to prevent a repeat of the Terri Schiavo case, in which the handicapped woman's husband succeeded in getting a court to deny her food and water, resulting in her death.
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus on the Family Action, said the Nebraska initiative appears to be the first of its kind.
"There have been a half-dozen states or so that have introduced this legislatively," she said, "but this is the only one that we're aware of that's on the ballot in November."
Compassion and Choices, a pro-euthanasia group, is opposing the initiative, calling it a "health-decision restriction."
Nebraskans to Vote on End-of-Life Issues
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Just saw a headline about scientists in England who discovered that a woman in a vegetative state was aware of what went on around her. They cautioned to give a benefit of doubt for these patients.