OMAHA, NEBRASKA—Pro-Reproductive Rights champions doubled down Monday on their commitment to protect safe, legal abortion in Nebraska following Gov. Pete Ricketts’s pledge during an earlier CNN interview to call a special session if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Gov. Ricketts promised to push a bill banning all abortions, including when the mother’s life is in danger and in cases of rape and incest, during the special session. The announcement comes after lawmakers failed to advance a similar measure during this year’s legislative session, marking a significant shift in Nebraskans’ support for reproductive freedom during the past decade.
“Abortion remains safe and legal in Nebraska, because we as a state took a stand this legislative session against state senators who have been trying to outlaw abortion for years,” said Andi Curry Grubb, State Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska. “We successfully protected the fundamental right to abortion in a solidly red state through the pure grit and determination of Nebraskans, who strongly value the reproductive freedom to decide what’s best for them, their family and future. We as Nebraskans may differ in our personal beliefs, but we can all agree that people deserve the right to make private health care decisions—not politicians who lack any sort of medical expertise.”
The interview with Ricketts comes on the heels of a leaked draft U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturns the nearly 50 years of federal abortion protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
“Since the opinion overturning Roe leaked, we have had more people than ever before reach out to help,” Curry Grubb said. “We have doctors who have never publicly spoken out starting to write letters and meeting with our state senators. Hundreds of Nebraskans are signed up to volunteer with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska and more than 2,000 Nebraskans showed up at rallies in support of abortion rights. The quiet majority is ready to speak loudly to ensure extreme politicians like Gov. Ricketts know that banning abortion is not what Nebraskans want.”
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization. As the advocacy and electoral arm of PPNCS, we mobilize supporters of all parties to defend and increase access to family planning services and fact based, medically accurate sexuality education. We work to inspire and engage citizens to take up the cause of reproductive health and rights through education, electoral activity, grassroots organizing and legislative advocacy.
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