Two petition campaigns seeking to solidify opposing abortions laws in Nebraska submit their respective tills of signatures to the Secretary of State Office on Wednesday.
This signature-gathering rivalry comes over a year after state lawmakers narrowly approved a 12 week abortion ban through LB 574, otherwise known as the Let Them Grow Act.
The two petitions:
- Protect Our Rights – protects the right to an abortion in the state constitution until the point of fetal viability, which is typically between 22-24 weeks gestational age. This broadly mirrors Nebraska’s abortion law prior to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision in 2022.
- Protect Women and Children – limits access to abortion beyond 12-14 weeks gestational age, and leave the door open for further restriction by state lawmakers. Generally, this would further enshrine current law in the state’s constitution.
During a news conference Wednesday, Ashlei Spivey with Protect Our Rights said their petition campaign collected the most signatures in Nebraska history, turning in 207,000 signatures.
Trailing slightly behind, Protect Women and Children submit 205,000 signatures.
“It’s clear that Nebraskans believe that patients, families, and doctors should be in charge of making their most personal healthcare decisions when pregnant about abortion, not politicians,” said Allie Berry, Campaign Manager for Protect Our Rights, in a statement.
“Voters will have a clear choice this election, and the Protect Women & Children initiative reflects our state’s commitment to provide women real care and support while protecting the lives of precious baby boys and girls,” said the Nebraska Family Alliance, one of the campaigns primary sponsors, in a statement.
Protect Our Rights has been sponsored by several organizations since they began signature collecting in mid-November, including Planned Parenthood, ACLU of Nebraska, Nebraska Appleseed Action, I Be Black Girl, and the Women’s Fund of Omaha.
Protect Women and Children received support from other organizations like the Catholic Conference, Nebraska Right to Life, and prominent Nebraska political funders like Senator Pete Ricketts and the Peed family.
The Secretary of State Bob Evnen has 40 days to certify each petitions signature count.