Nebraska Supreme Court Grants Approval For Contrasting Abortion Initiatives To Appear On Ballot

In November, Nebraska voters will have the opportunity to vote on two abortion initiatives. This comes after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that both initiatives could appear on the ballot.

One of the initiatives seeks to establish a constitutional right to abortion in Nebraska, while the other aims to prohibit abortion in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Last week, the court heard arguments in three lawsuits regarding the compliance of these amendments with the state’s single-subject rule.

Unanimously, the justices denied all three petitions, determining that each amendment focused on a single subject rather than multiple subjects.

Fetal viability is generally recognized at around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, which falls within the second trimester.

The opponents of these amendments argued that they would bring about various changes to state law. They pointed out that the amendments would allow late-term abortions, prevent any regulation of the procedure, and enable nonphysicians to perform abortions. The opponents also criticized the vague nature of the amendment’s text.

The court, however, rejected these arguments and stated in their opinion, “We find that the Initiative does not encompass multiple subjects, and instead, we determine that the provisions of the proposed constitutional amendment are naturally and necessarily related to the general subject.”

The same determination was made for the Protect Women and Children amendment.

It should be noted that if both initiatives pass, only one can be enacted. The initiative with the highest level of support will be adopted.

For a Nebraska ballot initiative to pass, it must meet two thresholds. First, more people must vote in favor of the measure than against it. Secondly, the initiative must receive a “yes” vote from at least 35 percent of all voters participating in the election.

If both initiatives meet these requirements, the one with the greatest support will be implemented.