Group launches ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in Nebraska Constitution

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Earlier this month, voters in Ohio added a right to abortion to their state’s constitution.

Now that fight comes to Nebraska.

On Thursday, the group Protect our Rights held a rally in Omaha to launch the campaign for a similar 2024 ballot initiative.

“Personal health care decisions should always be made with the patient and that individual in consulting with their doctor, not the government,” said Ashlei Spivey, executive director of I Be Black Girl. “This campaign is about giving Nebraskans the power to make those decisions.”

The proposed amendment would declare a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the patient.

Under the proposal, the patient’s health care practitioner would determine fetal viability, which is usually around 23 to 24 weeks.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska group releases language of petition to repeal 12-week abortion ban

Sandy Danek, president and executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said that language is vague.

“The concern with that is that the courts have defined health so broadly that basically any reason can be acceptable,” she said. “And most concerning is it’s left to the discretion of the person who’s performing the procedure.”

Advocates of the amendment say states with stricter abortion laws have a hard time recruiting health care professionals.

“Nebraska is already facing an OBGYN shortage,” supporter Mary Kinyoun said. “Reproductive health care deserts are growing in this state, while counties with OBGYNs are shrinking.”

SEE ALSO: Group appeals judge’s decision to uphold Nebraska’s abortion, gender-affirming care bans

The petition will need 125,000 valid signatures before it can go on the ballot in 2024.

In May, the Nebraska Legislature approved a 12-week abortion ban, which was quickly signed by Gov. Jim Pillen.

The governor said Wednesday that the 12-week ban was “common sense.”

“This petition has no place in Nebraska, and we will fight it with everything we have,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Planned Parenthood, Nebraska Right to Life recap one year without Roe v. Wade