Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) canceled plans for a special session of the state’s legislature because there was insufficient support from senators to ban abortions after 12 weeks.
Ricketts planned to call a special session after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, was leaked.
The Cornhusker Republican received a message Monday from the Nebraska speaker that the 33 senators required to pass such a measure could not be corralled:
“It is deeply saddening that only 30 Nebraska state senators are willing to come back to Lincoln this fall in order to protect innocent life,” Ricketts said in a statement. “The proposal to change Nebraska’s state law that prohibits abortions starting at 20 weeks and reduce that to 12 weeks is a measured, reasonable step to protect more preborn babies in our state.”
“Right now, babies in Nebraska can be aborted up to 20 weeks. At this age, babies are nearly fully formed. They can kick, swallow, hear and respond to sounds outside the womb,” the statement continued, debunking the leftist myth that unborn babies are merely a clump of cells. “They suck their thumbs. They can feel pain. And as medical advancements continue, more and more babies born at this stage can survive premature births and go on to live vibrant lives. Under Nebraska’s current law, these babies can still be killed before they have that chance.”
Ricketts then issued a call to action for Nebraskans, saying, “I ask all Nebraskans who are pro-life to look at the list of state senators who signed the letter. If your state senator is on that list, please call or email their office to thank them for their choice to stand with preborn babies.”
The news comes as voters in neighboring Kansas soundly rejected a ballot initiative that would have allowed the state legislature to begin restricting abortions.
Upon the overturn of Roe, some Republican-led states had trigger laws banning abortion after certain amounts of time, and others had governors who vowed special sessions to start restricting the killing of unborn Americans.
Missouri’s trigger law created a near-total ban on the procedure, and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) recently signed a similar measure into law.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.
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