UPDATE: 6:20 p.m.
Going into Thursday’s debate it looked as if the future of LB 626, a six-week abortion ban, was riding on a proposed amendment.
In March, Senator Merv Riepe suggested stepping back the six-week abortion ban and introduced an amendment that would raise the limit from six to 12 weeks and allow exceptions for fetal abnormalities.
He brought that amendment back in front of the body for Thursday’s debate, arguing that his blowout win in the primaries followed by a tight general election showed abortion bans continue to be unpopular with Nebraska voters.
“Had my opponent had more time, more money, walked more or had more name recognition, she could have won. This made the message to me clear as to how critical abortion will be in 2024,” said Riepe.
His compromise amendment ran into a filibuster effort by supporters of 626 who argued that watering down the bill to 12 weeks would mean the difference between whether thousands of fetuses would be aborted.
“According to the annual reports from DHHS, (Department of Health and Human Services) the overwhelming majority of abortions in our state take place before 12 weeks. Based on the most recently available numbers LB 626 could save 2000 precious lives from elective abortion. In comparison, the 12 week law would only stop around 300,” said Senator Joni Albrecht, who introduced LB 626.
That choice to spurn the amendment proved to be a fatal one for the bill.
When it came time for its cloture vote, LB 626 failed to advance by just one. Almost immediately after the vote, a crowd of opponents to the bill erupted in celebration.
It was a devastating defeat for supporters of the bill, including Governor Jim Pillen, who released a statement saying in part
“It is unacceptable for senators to be present not voting on such a momentous vote. I call on Senator Merv Riepe to make a motion to reconsider and stand by the commitments to Life he has made in the past,” said Pillen in his statement.
The likelihood of that though is very low and for now, abortion will remain legal in Nebraska up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy.
“Today’s vote is a huge victory for abortion access in Nebraska, the Midwest, and for the country,” said Andi Curry Grubb, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska. “It means abortion will remain safe and legal in our state, providing people with the bodily autonomy they deserve. We have made it clear—no bans. Not now, not ever. And not in our state.”
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Nebraska lawmakers were expected to begin a second round of debate Thursday on a bill that would ban abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which generally occurs around the sixth week of pregnancy and before most women know they're pregnant.
Supporters advanced the so-called heartbeat bill from the first round of debate earlier this month with only a one-vote margin to break a filibuster. The bill must survive Thursday's debate and a final round to pass, but the effort in the Republican-controlled state remains in question. Yet to be considered is an amendment introduced by a Republican co-signer to the bill that would extend the proposed ban to 12 weeks.
The amendment and reports of support for it by some lawmakers who voted for the bill earlier this month could signal that a ban set very early in pregnancy may face pushback even from those who want further abortion restrictions.
The bill makes specific exceptions for ectopic pregnancies, IVF procedures, and allows for the removal of a fetus that has died in the womb. It also does not ascribe criminal penalties to either women who receive or doctors who perform abortions. Instead, it would subject doctors who perform abortions in violation of the measure to professional discipline, which could include losing their medical licenses.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, has been a vocal proponent of the bill and has said he will sign it if it passes.
Nebraska has the only single-chamber, officially nonpartisan legislature in the United States. But each of its 49 lawmakers identifies as Republican or Democrat and tends to propose and vote for legislation along party lines. Republicans hold 32 seats, while Democrats hold 17 seats. Although bills can advance with a simple majority, it takes a supermajority — 33 votes — to end debate to overcome a filibuster. So a single lawmaker breaking from the party line could decide whether a bill advances or dies for the year.
The close divide played heavily in the defeat last year of a so-called trigger bill that would have automatically banned nearly all abortions in the state, even those resulting from rape and incest, as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide for nearly five decades. That bill fell two votes short.
In the vote to advance the abortion bill earlier this year, Sen. Mike McDonnell, a Democrat, voted with Republicans. His reason, he said, is that he is a devout Roman Catholic who has always campaigned as an anti-abortion candidate.
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