By Aaron Sanderford Nebraska Examiner
Nebraska voters will decide the future of abortion rights in November, but unlike voters in other states, they have competing options.
Two separate constitutional amendments regarding abortion have qualified for the general election ballot, the Secretary of State’s office announced Friday.
One proposal by abortion rights advocates would enshrine the right to abortion in the Nebraska Constitution until a medical provider determines the fetus is viable.
Most medical experts place the viable age at between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, but critics of the move say it could lead doctors to push it even further.
Another proposed constitutional amendment pushed by abortion restriction advocates would constitutionally limit abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy.
The bill would also allow Congress to pass a stricter ban on abortions than current law, which bans abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, or about 10 weeks after conception.
Both sides celebrated clearing the hurdle of collecting at least 123,000 valid signatures from registered voters for the amendment, including 5% from voters in 38 counties.
Both sides submitted more signatures than were required, but state and county election officials stopped counting when there were more than 136,000 valid signatures. The “Protect Women and Children” petition had received signatures from more parts of Nebraska when election officials stopped counting the signatures. The “Protect Our Rights” petition had submitted slightly more signatures.
Both camps prepare for battle in the fall
Allie Berry, campaign manager for Protect Our Rights, a group that promotes abortion-rights propositions, called Friday “an important next step for this campaign.”
“People in every corner of Nebraska believe in the freedom to make private health care decisions free from political interference,” she said.
The Women’s and Children’s Fund released a statement from one pharmacist and three nurses in support of the initiative: “Voters have the choice to reject a radical, activist amendment that would put government in the position of being between women and their doctors.”
The statement highlighted language in the bill that provides exceptions relating to rape, incest and the life of the mother. Critics of the proposal argue the exceptions are written in a way that makes them difficult to access.
Competing proposals become the new reality
Secretary of State Bob Evenen praised election staff, saying they were “processing several petitions” and working hard to meet key election deadlines.
Voting must be completed by September 13th.
Evenen’s statement acknowledged the historic nature of Nebraska’s first ever election in which multiple competing ballot measures are being considered in the same election.
The odd thing about this arrangement is that if voters adopt or pass both bills, The one that gets the most votes becomes law.Evenen said in May.
Under state law, Gov. Jim Pilen is tasked with formally declaring after an election whether two competing ballot measures are inconsistent.
Nebraska’s anti-abortion movement will be the first in the nation to have competing abortion bills on the ballot at the same time.
Political observers have questioned how competing ballot measures might affect voters’ propensity to support abortion rights if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion rights measures have passed in every state that has been on the ballot since Roe.
Critics of the “Protect Women and Children” proposal say it’s deliberately confusing to convince signers that it will uphold current law when in fact it doesn’t.
Critics of the Abortion Rights proposal say it goes too far and would outlaw current state restrictions, including parental notification.
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