Roe v. Wade is in Jeopardy: What Does it Mean for Nebraska?
By Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska | Sept. 27, 2021, 6 p.m.
Category:
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its first major abortion case since conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett filled the seat of reproductive freedom advocate former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade—the decision that established the constitutional right to have an abortion—the Court will review a blatantly unconstitutional 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi, which is currently blocked by the lower courts. The Court is expected to rule on this case in 2022.
This is the moment that anti-abortion politicians have been waiting for: by taking up this case, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority is seizing their opportunity to challenge Roe v. Wade and chip away at abortion access.
So, what does this mean for Nebraska?
Anti-abortion politicians have tried time and time again to restrict abortion access in Nebraska. Some laws have stuck, including a 20-week ban, a forced 24-hour waiting period, a ban on medication abortion administered through telehealth, and a ban on the safest and most common method of abortion in the second trimester. They won’t stop there.
One day after S.B. 8—the most extreme abortion ban in the country—went into effect in Texas, Governor Pete Ricketts said he was “pleased” to see the law take effect and indicated plans to introduce similar legislation in Nebraska.
Nebraska has an anti-abortion majority in the legislature. While we have allies in the legislature committed to stopping an abortion ban in the short term, we must fight to protect and expand abortion rights in our state.
You can help protect safe, legal abortion in Nebraska
Rest assured that abortion remains safe and legal in Nebraska as we await news from the Supreme Court, but we must fight to keep it that way. We need legislation that protects and expands access to sexual and reproductive health care, as well as elected leaders who are committed to reproductive freedom. Those of us who support reproductive freedom must speak up now before it’s too late—and encourage our friends, families, and communities to do the same.
Tags: