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Nebraska will have competing abortion measures on its November ballot
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Nebraska will have competing abortion measures on its November ballot

Two abortion-related bills will be on the ballot for the general election in Nebraska: one would guarantee the right to abortion up to the point at which abortion is possible, and the other would enshrine the state’s ban on abortion from the 12th week of pregnancy onwards.

On Friday, Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen confirmed that both measures had reached the required number of signatures to appear on the ballot for the November vote.

“Barring legal challenges, the November general election will feature two ballot proposals that directly conflict with each other. This could be the first time in Nebraska’s history that this has happened,” Evnen said in a press release.

One of the proposed amendments, titled “Protect the Right to Abortion,” establishes a “fundamental right” for every person to have an abortion up to the point of viability—generally considered to be around 24 weeks—or in cases where the life and health of the pregnant person must be protected.

Protect Our Rights, the organizers of the “Protect the Right to Abortion” amendment, said they submitted 207,000 signatures to the Secretary of State in July.

Abortion rights protesters chanted in the Nebraska Legislature during the final reading of a bill that would combine a 12-week abortion ban with a measure restricting gender reassignment surgery for people under 19 in May 2023.
Abortion rights protesters chanted in the Nebraska Legislature during the final reading of a bill that would combine a 12-week abortion ban with a measure restricting gender reassignment surgery for people under 19 in May 2023. (AP)

The other measure, Protect Women and Children, would ban abortions after the first trimester (12 weeks) but allow them afterward in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergencies. This is the state’s current abortion law.

After the Supreme Court annulment Roe v. Wade In 2022, abortions were legal in Nebraska up to the 20th week of pregnancy. But last year, the state legislature passed a much stricter ban for the 12th week of pregnancy.

The Nebraska Family Alliance, the group behind the “Protect Women and Children” amendment, said it had submitted more than 205,000 signatures.

The Secretary of State’s office said 312 people asked for their names to be removed from the “Protect Women and Children” petition. Only 14 people requested the same for the “Protect Abortion Rights” petition.

For a ballot proposal to be adopted, it needs to have more votes in favour than against, and it must receive at least 35 percent of the total votes cast to be in favour of the proposal.

If both measures receive enough votes in favor to be adopted, the measure with the highest number of votes in favor takes precedence.

Nebraska is the 10th state to introduce abortion legislation on the November ballot, joining Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.

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