Nation IN BRIEF : KANSAS : Abortion Protester Given Year in Jail

A federal judge in Wichita, Kan., sentenced an anti-abortion demonstrator to one year in jail on a contempt of court charge for directing children to block access to an abortion clinic. U.S. District Judge Patrick F. Kelly said the only way that Jay Cody Gibson, 34, of Neosho, Mo., could avoid serving the full term would be to promise not to defy Kelly’s order against blocking the entrances to two clinics and to dissociate himself from Operation Rescue, the national anti-abortion group organizing protests that began July 15. As federal marshals led Gibson away, his only comment was: “The Lord is good, folks. The Lord is good.” The sentence was the harshest so far for any of the demonstrators. Two others were sentenced to jail but released after promising to obey the judge’s order.