The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that two dueling constitutional amendments related to abortion can appear on the state ballot this fall. One amendment, called “Protect the Right to Abortion,” would establish a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability or to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient. The other, “Protect Women and Children,” would ban abortions in the second and third trimesters except in cases of medical emergency, rape, or incest. Abortion opponents had argued that the pro-abortion rights measure violated a rule on single-subject ballot proposals, but the court disagreed.
Nebraska is one of 10 states with abortion-related constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall, alongside states with both conservative and liberal leanings. Advocates for abortion rights have often been successful with such initiatives, even in conservative-leaning states like Ohio, Kansas, and Kentucky. In Ohio, voters added the right to abortion care access to the state Constitution, while in Kansas and Kentucky, voters rejected proposals that would have restricted abortion rights. The Nebraska ACLU and the group Protect Our Rights have both supported the pro-abortion rights ballot measure, seeing it as a way to end the state’s current abortion ban and ensure that healthcare decisions rest with patients rather than politicians. The secretary of state will host hearings on the two ballot measures in October.
Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com
