Planned Parenthood, Nebraska Right to Life recap one year without Roe v. Wade
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Next week marks one year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Many things have changed across the country and also here in Nebraska since the June 24, 2022, decision.
“One year ago, when Roe was overturned, we all started bracing for elected officials to try and ban abortions in our state,” said Andi Curry Grubb, the Nebraska director of Planned Parenthood North Central States. “And for most of the year, they tried very hard to do just that.”
SEE ALSO: Nebraska judge delays arguments in lawsuit over abortion, gender-affirming care bans
Sen. Joni Albrecht introduced the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, which would ban abortion after about six weeks.
But that failed to move forward by one vote.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
Senators introduced an amendment banning abortion at 12 weeks, which went into effect last month.
SEE ALSO: Planned Parenthood transfers women to out-of-state clinics as Nebraska abortion ban begins
Anti-abortion organizations say the past year has been full of challenges, but they’ve managed to prevail in some aspects.
“Obviously, our goal was to pass the Heartbeat Act,” said Sandy Danek, the director of Nebraska Right to Life. “When that didn’t happen, we saw an opportunity to at least offer some protections. But we’ll continue to keep working because that’s what we do.”
Planned Parenthood said access to the procedure has been “decimated” throughout the region.
“It’s really difficult to provide and plan health care effectively in this environment,” said Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer. “We’re always at the whim of legislators or judges, trying to figure out what they’re telling us, what we can and can’t do. We’re often working in these unknowns, these what-if’s.”
A Gallup poll that was released this week detailed the country’s thoughts.
It found that support for abortion rights is growing, though Americans still have nuanced views on the issue.
A record-high 69% believe first-trimester abortions should be legal, according to the survey.
But most Americans oppose abortion later in pregnancy, with only 37% supporting second-trimester abortions and only 22% in favor of abortions in the final three months of pregnancy.
Meanwhile, a near record-high 34% want abortions to be legal under any circumstances.
Overall, according to the pollster, the nation is evenly divided between those who want abortion to be legal in all or most cases and those who want it to be illegal in all or most cases.
Gallup says its latest survey was conducted throughout May and includes results from more than 1,000 adults.
