LINCOLN, Neb. – Just nine days into the new legislative session, Nebraska state senators are considering yet another bill that seeks to restrict Nebraskans’ access to abortion care. In response, the ACLU of Nebraska is again urging state senators to respect Nebraskans’ rights by leaving medical decisions to patients and their health providers.
Today, Nebraska State Senator Suzanne Geist introduced LB1086, which would further restrict access to medication abortion care by limiting the window in which medication abortion pills can be prescribed. It would also add new reporting requirements and subject doctors to felony charges for violations of its provisions.
The new bill follows introduction of LB933, a so-called trigger ban that would ban abortion entirely if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, and LB781, a bill that would ban abortions at about six weeks of pregnancy, before many Nebraskans know they are pregnant. LB963, a bill that would allow health workers to deny care based on personal beliefs, could also create new barriers to abortion.
ACLU of Nebraska Legal and Policy Counsel Scout Richters said each bill has a common theme: politicians shaming Nebraskans and pushing their personal beliefs on the individual healthcare decisions of those needing abortion care.
“This is another attack on our rights and access to medical care,” Richters said. “Medication abortion is safe, effective and FDA-approved with a decades-long track record. While access to medication abortion is expanding nationally because of its efficacy and safety, Nebraska politicians are trying to move our state backwards. This measure would fall hardest on those who are struggling financially, people of color, young people and those who live in rural areas. The bottom line is that no one can know someone else’s personal circumstances. That’s why health, not politicians, should drive important medical decisions. Lawmakers need to stop restricting abortion care and stop judging and shaming Nebraskans who need it.”
The ACLU of Nebraska opposes any interference by politicians in Nebraskans’ reproductive rights and supports efforts to repeal politically motivated and medically unnecessary state restrictions. The Guttmacher Institute, a national reproductive and sexual health research and policy organization, currently categorizes Nebraska as hostile to reproductive rights based on the significant current abortion restrictions in the state.
The Pew Research Center reports a majority of Nebraskans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
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