Nebraska Will Have Dueling Abortion Amendments on the November Ballot

Two warring proposed abortion amendments will appear on Nebraska’s ballot in November after state officials approved the measures late last week to go before voters.

Nebraska is the tenth state to have abortion on the ballot this fall, and it is the only state in the nation with two abortion-related amendments on the same ballot, the Associated Press reported. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced Friday that the initiatives obtained more than the 123,000 required signatures to appear on the ballot. 

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One measure, called the Protect Women and Children amendment, would enshrine the state’s current 12-week restriction into the state constitution, and contains exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a bill in May 2023 that restricts abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and outlaws “gender-affirming care” for minors. Before the 12-week limit was in effect, Nebraska limited abortions to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The ballot measure reads:

Except when a woman seeks an abortion necessitated by a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest, unborn children shall be protected from abortion in the second and third trimesters.

The Protect Women and Children Nebraska Committee is comprised of four medical professionals and is backed by pro-life groups in the state as an alternative to the other ballot measure, which would allow abortions throughout pregnancy. 

“This initiative defends women’s relationship with their doctors, lives of preborn babies & women’s medical health & safety standards.  If passed, Protect Women & Children would allow Nebraska to be the first state in the nation to protect life in the State Constitution,” Nebraska Right to Life said in a statement. 

Nebraska Family Alliance, which also supports the measure, said it “establishes a floor of protection, not a ceiling, meaning preborn children must, at a minimum, be protected by the second trimester, and stronger pro-life laws could still be passed going forward.”

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The other proposed amendment would allow abortions until fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks of pregnancy, and then throughout pregnancy under some exceptions. The coalition behind the measure is called the Protect Our Rights campaign, and is endorsed by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska. 

The measure would amend the state constitution to read:

All persons shall have a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient, without interference from the state or its political subdivisions. Fetal viability means the point in pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the patient’s treating health care practitioner, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.

Leading pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America has warned that the Planned Parenthood-backed, “California-style amendment” would “bring late-term abortion back to Nebraska” and erase “common sense protections.”

“Nebraska already allows first-trimester abortions but that’s not enough for the ACLU and Planned Parenthood who are attempting to enshrine second- and third-trimester abortion in the constitution,” State Public Affairs Director for SBA Pro-Life America Kelsey Pritchard said in an emailed statement: 

The people of Nebraska have a clear choice this November. Either protect life when a baby can smile, suck their thumb, and feel pain OR allow a California-style amendment to bring late-term abortion back to Nebraska. Keep common sense protections on the books to protect women from being sent to ERs OR give Big Abortion a free pass to go completely unregulated. Let parents have a say in their daughters’ lives OR allow girls who aren’t old enough to get their ears pierced on their own to get an abortion without mom or dad. Lives are at stake and so is the health and safety of women and girls.

Organizers of a third effort, which would have restricted abortions at all stages of pregnancy and defined embryos as people, did not submit petitions, AP reported.

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The measures are competing, meaning if voters somehow approve both amendments, they cannot both be enshrined into the state constitution. Evnen said if voters somehow end up approving both measures, the one that garners the most “for” votes is the one that will be adopted, according to the report.

Evnen’s office told the outlet that Gov. Pillen is ultimately in charge of determining if there is a conflict. Pillen’s office declined to “comment on a hypothetical future legal issue.”

“The overwhelming majority of Nebraskans support strong constitutional protections for the unborn, so the Governor expects only the pro-life initiative to prevail,” Laura Strimple, a spokeswoman for Pillen, said in an email to AP. “In any other scenario, the Governor will consult with the Attorney General as to his legal duties.”

Either measure will need a majority to pass, as well as the support of 35 percent of voters casting ballots.

Nebraska is one of nearly a dozen states where pro-abortion activists are working to codify the right to kill the unborn. So far, voters in Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Missouri, and South Dakota will have the opportunity to vote on abortion measures this year. Similar measures are underway in several other states. 

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.