On Friday, the highest court in Nebraska upheld a state regulation that introduces a prohibition on gender affirming treatments for minors and restricts abortions post 12 weeks of pregnancy. The court accepted the combination of these two issues in a single law.
The abortion restriction was appended to Legislative Bill 574, which initially aimed to limit gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth, in the late stages of the state’s last legislative session.
The enactment faced legal challenges from Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, with representation from the American Civil Liberties Union, on the grounds that it breached a constitutional rule mandating legislation to focus on a single topic.
Despite this, the supreme court of the state ruled that the law pertains to the broader category of “regulation of permissible medical care,” despite the distinct nature of abortion and gender-affirming treatments.
Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman, voicing her disagreement in a vehement partial dissent, argued that the two subjects do not unite under a singular theme. She criticized the majority for undermining the Constitution to accommodate legislative preferences, emphasizing that the presence of somewhat alike provisions does not neutralize the bill’s multifaceted nature.
Initially, two separate proposals were laid out by Republican legislators in Nebraska’s officially nonpartisan legislature: a ban on abortions approximately six weeks into pregnancy and a restriction on gender-affirming procedures for minors. However, following the failure of the six-week abortion ban to break a filibuster by just one vote, legislators merged the 12-week restriction into the transgender treatment ban.
After a district judge dismissed the lawsuit against this law in August of the previous year, echoing the ACLU’s concern, an appeal was made.
Ruth Richardson, the CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, remarked that the clinics in Nebraska will persist in offering abortion services up to 12 weeks, continuing their commitment to ensuring access to essential care for their patients in Nebraska, including arranging services out of state if required.
However, the ultimate decision may rest in the hands of voters. In November, the ballot is expected to present two opposing questions: one proposing to recognize the right to abortion in the state constitution and the other to cement the 12-week abortion restriction.
