Nebraska legislative committee advances bans on abortion, gender-affirming health care

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — A legislative committee, after a few testy exchanges, advanced bills Wednesday evening to make abortion less accessible and ban minors from obtaining gender-affirming health care.

Each vote was 4-2, with one senator, Lynne Walz of Fremont, absent for the executive session.

State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, who chairs the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, said he was not surprised by the divided vote, given the strong feelings on both sides of the two issues.

Legislative Bill 626, the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, would effectively ban abortion after six weeks, if a physician can detect cardiac activity. It has at least 31 supporters, two short of the 33 needed to head off a filibuster.

“I’ve never hidden that I’m a pro-life politician,” Hansen said. “I feel that this will save many innocent live.”

SEE ALSO: Hearing on proposed abortion ban draws hundreds to Nebraska State Capitol

After the votes, Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha pledged to “burn the session” through protracted debate because of the advancement of the Let Them Grow Act, which would block gender-affirming health care before age 19.

“It’s an attack on children, and it attacks very, very vulnerable children,” Cavanaugh said, citing the higher rates of suicide among transgender teens.

Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, who introduced LB 574, said her intent is to prevent minors experiencing gender dysphoria or unease from “irreversible life decisions that are experimental.”

The cultural divide on abortion was clearly evident during the committee meeting, as were the divided opinions on gender.

The conservative shift in the 49-seat Legislature, following the striking down of the constitutional right to abortion last year, has emboldened abortion opponents to seek further restrictions and energized abortion rights advocates to maintain those rights.

Currently, Nebraska bans elective abortion after 20 weeks.

Critics of the new proposal say many women do not realize that they are pregnant until after six weeks, making LB 626 a “near total ban” of abortion.

Cavanaugh and Sen. Jen Day of Gretna unsuccessfully requested consideration of amendments to the bill during the executive session, which was open only to members of the committee and the news media.

Day said that the impact of LB 626 would go far beyond elective abortion and would force obstetricians and gynecologists to leave the state, creating an “OB-GYN desert” in Nebraska.

She said that women could die because their health care would no longer be guided by a physician, but by politicians.

Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, along with Hansen, disputed that.

LB 626 includes exceptions for the health of the mother, as well as for pregnancies caused by rape and incest.

But Cavanaugh maintained that the bill should be amended because it was unclear about how a physician would determine whether a woman had been raped and whether it should be reported to police.

She said that because LB 626 will face a filibuster, it’s unlikely that it could be amended during floor debate. Thus, she said, any changes should be adopted by the committee.

But Cavanaugh also said making no changes makes the bill more vulnerable to a court challenge.

Riepe argued against amending the bill, saying no matter how much it was changed, it would be challenged in court.

The Let Them Grow Act prompted dozens of people to flood a legislative chamber two weeks ago to testify on the bill.

Proponents said minors need time to grow up before undergoing gender-altering procedures.

Opponents decried the meddling of politicians in personal medical decisions.

Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, the chief sponsor of the abortion bill, has indicated that she will likely make it her priority bill, thus guaranteeing it will be debated this session.

Kauth said the Let Them Grow Act is among the bills she is considering prioritizing. If it isn’t prioritized, it would face a more uncertain chance of coming up for debate this year.

Cavanaugh said she doubts that bill has 33 votes to withstand a filibuster and, thus, it would be a waste of time to bring it up for discussion by the full Legislature.

Joining Hansen and Riepe in voting yes on both bills were Sens. Beau Ballard of Lincoln and Brian Hardin of Gering.

Cavanaugh and Day voted no on advancement of both measures.

Cavanaugh pledged to draft a rarely used “minority statement” on both bills.

Typically, when a committee votes out a bill for debate by the full Legislature, its “committee statement” includes only the vote, who testified for and against the measure and an explanation of the bill.