A post-Roe v. Wade Nebraska
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, issued on June 24, 2022, overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to an abortion within the United States. Because of this decision, regulation of abortion is left to be determined by state and federal legislation. Federal legislation overrules state, but there are no current laws passed by Congress that directly relate to abortion.
Current laws in Nebraska restrict abortion after 20 weeks postfertilization, except for cases of medical intervention needed to prevent death or serious injury to the pregnant individual. The law, Nebraska Revised Statute 28-3, 106, was passed by the Nebraska Unicameral in 2010.
An attempt to pass legislation further restricting abortion took place during April 2022. The proposed law, Legislative Bill 933 or “The Human Life Protection Act”, would place a total ban on abortions except for cases of medical intervention. The law also would make it a felony to perform an abortion. LB 933 was a “trigger” law, meaning it was written to go into effect after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The bill was introduced by State Senators Joni Albrecht and Mike Flood along with 23 cosponsors. The bill stalled in the Judiciary Committee where it didn’t have the votes to advance to debate by the full legislator, but a majority vote by the legislature bypassed the committee vote in an action known as a “pull motion.”
On April 6, the bill failed to advance from the first-round of debate. Opponents to the bill launched a filibuster and after eight hours of debate, the vote was 31-15, which is two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to end a filibuster and for the bill to continue.
Governor Pete Ricketts had stated his intention to call a special legislative session to pass legislation restricting abortions to 12 weeks if Roe v. Wade was overturned, but did not when only 30 senators showed support for legislation. 33 votes would be necessary to pass the bill.
Abortion is an important issue in the upcoming November midterms, especially in the race between Republican incumbent Don Bacon and Democratic State Senator Tony Vargas for Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district.
The 2nd district, composed of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, is a battleground for Democrats and Republicans. During the 2020 election, the district awarded its electoral vote to Joe Biden, while Don Bacon held his seat in Congress.
A large issue for both the Republican and Democratic parties is generating voter turnout during midterm elections. The Democratic party currently holds a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate is evenly split between the two parties. Often the party holding the presidency will see voter response to the prior election result in losing seats in Congress, but the Democratic party hopes that the response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade will increase both voter turnout and support for the party in the midterm elections.
By: Aubrey Benton