Dan Parsons sent along the following press release regarding the petition drive to put a constitutional amendment on the upcoming Nebraska ballot:
LINCOLN - The Nebraskans for Humane Care Committee today turned in more than 137,000 signatures to the Nebraska Secretary of State in support of a Constitutional Amendment that would guarantee basic human rights to all Nebraskans.
Tom Mann, Treasurer of Nebraskans for Humane Care Committee, predicted voters would overwhelmingly approve the proposed amendment in the November election.
“My wife Lexi and I are grateful for the support of thousands of our fellow Nebraskans who signed their names to gain the right to vote on the proposed Humane Care Amendment to the Nebraska Constitution. We are optimistic that this much-needed human rights measure will be overwhelmingly approved by voters this November,” the Treasurer said.
Mann, an Omaha lawyer and legal software consultant, said that the proposed amendment allows for honoring the will of any person to make his or her own decision, while guaranteeing the basic human need of food and water.
“The Humane Care Amendment would protect any person if an institution’s withholding of food and water would reasonably result in death or grave physical harm. The petition does not modify existing Nebraska law that allows any person to sign an advanced directive requesting the withholding of food or water under specific conditions,” Mann said.
“As an attorney who has dealt with estate planning and end-of-life issues, I am grateful to my fellow Nebraskan, Dr. Stephen Safranek, Professor at Ave Maria School of Law, for his service as lead author of the Humane Care Amendment,” Mann noted. “By specifying the fundamental human right of food and water in the Nebraska Constitution, rather than merely by legislation, we will safeguard all Nebraskans from corporate lobbyists, special interests and shifting political winds in Lincoln.”
Lexi Mann, president and owner of Special Journeys, an Omaha company dedicated to providing vacations to people with disabilities, said, “I’m privileged to work closely with our state’s special-needs citizens, their families, caregivers and advocates.”
“We feel strongly that no Nebraskan, regardless of disability, age or color should ever be involuntarily denied something as essential as hydration,” she added.
