OMAHA, NEBRASKA—Planned Parenthood North Central States and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska launched a statewide educational campaign this week highlighting the diverse voices of Nebraskans who support sexual and reproductive health care and rights, while combatting long-standing stigmas that have affected LGBTQIA+ people and other marginalized communities across the state.
The campaign comes as Nebraska and the nation enter a grave new era of attacks to reproductive health care and rights. Most recently, Texas began enforcing a law that bans abortion after six weeks and empowers private citizens regardless of the state they live in to sue abortion providers and anyone who “aids and abets” abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect, signaling how the court might rule in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Center, the upcoming Mississippi case that directly challenges the protections of Roe v. Wade. Without Roe, states would decide abortion rights individually.
“Nebraskans from all corners of the state are standing in solidarity to voice their support for safeguarding and expanding sexual and reproductive freedoms in Nebraska,” said Andi Curry Grubb, State Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska. “For too long a small minority of anti-abortion politicians and groups have loudly worked to chip away at reproductive rights, and we are at a turning point that could have implications for generations to come. It’s time make our voices heard—sexual and reproductive health care and freedom are Nebraska values.”
The campaign features the diverse stories of Nebraskans—a woman who struggled to access abortion care after finding out her life was in danger, a queer person who grew up in rural Nebraska, and an asexual teen who grappled with her identity in the absence of comprehensive sex education.
Nebraska has seen a gradual shift over the past decade in which people are becoming more vocal about their support for sexual and reproductive health care. More politicians are running as pro-reproductive health care candidates and Nebraska voters are electing them, bolstering the push to not only preserve but expand health care access in the state.
“I had my abortion in 1982, almost 10 years after Roe v. Wade protected safe, legal abortion in the United States,” said Lynn Zeleski, a Hastings resident and abortion advocate. “My life was in danger, and I never imagined I would have a problem receiving abortion care. The Court had already made its decision on the issue. I jumped through multiple hoops and begged doctors to sign off on the procedure that would save my life, so my son would grow up with a mother. Some hospital staff were openly hostile towards me after my abortion and during my recovery. No one should ever have to endure what I went through.”
“Being in control of our health is being in control of our decisions. The restrictions being placed on abortion and the lack of access to affordable sexual and reproductive health care are frightening. That’s why it has never been more important for Nebraskans to stand up and have their voices heard and demand policies that actually reflect Nebraska values,” Zeleski added.
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska Action Fund, formerly PP Voters 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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