Nebraska's abortion debate gets crowded with three ballot initiatives in the air

In the 2024 election season, the legal right to abortion is front and center for many voters across the U.S. and the political spectrum. In Nebraska, three ballot initiatives are being considered: one for a total abortion ban, and two for specific abortion-access windows in the state constitution, with limits set at 12 and 24 weeks

After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the Cornhusker State lawmakers passed a 12-week abortion ban with expectations for rape, incest, and the health of the parent in 2023, paring down the state’s previous 20-week ban. Now, anti-abortion and reproductive rights advocacy groups are rushing to enshrine their values in the state constitution before next year’s legislative session.

One petition being circulated by Protect Our Rights, a coalition of local reproductive health rights groups, would enshrine the right to abortion when it is “needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient,” as well extend abortion access up to fetal viability.

“Nothing about this new effort changes our plans and our goal. We are staying focused on getting our initiative in front of voters so that Nebraskans can make their own decisions about pregnancy and abortion with compassion and privacy, without political interference,” Protect Our Rights campaign manager Allie Berry said in an email statement.

An anti-abortion campaign is aiming to enshrine Nebraska’s current 12-week ban in the state constitution in opposition to the Protect Our Rights initiative. Since its launch in March, Protect Women and Children has received backing from conservative lawmakers in the state, including U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, who donated $500,000 to the petition. Representatives from the campaign did not respond to interview requests for this story.

Six weeks before the signature deadline, a third campaign joined two others to put a complete abortion ban in the state constitution. The Choose Life Now initiative aims to ban all abortions without exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the life of the parent. Rose Kohl, a sponsor, launched the campaign in response to other initiatives, believing they don’t go far enough to prevent abortions.

“We want to protect the life of the mother in every case, and there are already constitutional protections for mothers’ lives,” Kohl said. “We want to see the babies live, and that’s going to be a beautiful day when life is protected and respected.”

To earn a spot on the ballot, each initiative must collect signatures from roughly 123,000, or 10% of the state’s registered voters, by July 3. They must also garner signatures from 5% of registered voters in at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.

Nebraska joins the national wave of abortion petitions

Putting abortion access up for voters to decide isn’t new. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, multiple states have put total abortion bans in place. In contrast, voters in six states, including Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky, have chosen to place protections for abortion access in their constitutions.

In this election, a slate of states will see abortion on the ballot, including Colorado, Florida, Maryland and South Dakota. Alongside Nebraska, there are potential abortion-related petitions attempting to get on the ballot, including in Arizona, Arkansas and Missouri.

Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California-Davis School of Law and historian of the U.S. abortion debate, said the petition challenge in Nebraska is unique. She pointed to how abortion-related ballot initiatives in other states determined whether there should be a constitutional right to abortion. At the same time, Nebraska’s petitions seek to establish a specific window for abortion access.

“Why this matters for anti-abortion groups nationwide is if they can get the 12-week ceiling amendment passed, that might be a way to kind of stop the bleeding on the ballot initiative front for anti-abortion groups who have been really struggling,” Ziegler said. “If it works in Nebraska, you may see it rolled out in other states, as well.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nebraska's abortion laws debate gets 3 ballot initiatives: Elections