With just a few days left in the 108th session of the Nebraska Legislature, those keeping score in the culture wars can start doling out the spoils. The best this space can gather is that culture war victories in legislatures — aside from some self-satisfaction and I imagine a little gloating — amount to very […]
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LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on Monday signed into law new restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care for minors, which opponents vowed to fight until the very end. Legislative Bill 574, proposed by State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, passed 33-15 last Friday on the final round of debate. The measure includes an approximate 10-week […]
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LINCOLN — Pleas, chants and tossed tampons and pads did not stop the Nebraska Legislature’s conservative majority from passing a bill Friday combining two proposals that several state senators said might not have been able to pass on their own. Hundreds spent the day rallying at the Capitol for abortion rights and trans rights. They […]
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LINCOLN — An expected final vote Friday on the Nebraska Legislature’s efforts to further restrict abortions and limit gender-affirming care for minors may not be the last after a new amendment was filed Thursday. However, key senators said they would not support the changes proposed. State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont filed an amendment to […]
The post Nebraska lawmaker introduces less restrictive amendment on abortion-gender care proposal appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — With thousands of Nebraskans watching, including hundreds in person, state lawmakers shoehorned a stricter abortion ban into an already divisive bill to limit gender-affirming care for minors. The proposal is now one step from passage. Tuesday’s action was the culmination of months of public outcry and legislative fights over the two measures, both […]
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LINCOLN — The session-long fight in some Nebraska lawmakers’ efforts to further restrict abortion and gender-affirming care for minors could be decided Tuesday evening with a decisive amendment to pair the measures as one proposal. State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair unveiled the amendment last Monday to marry two of the most divisive issues this session […]
The post A guide to Tuesday’s debate on amendment to combine gender-affirming care, abortion restrictions appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Last month, State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston was the reason the Nebraska Legislature fell a single vote short of outlawing abortions after an ultrasound detects embryonic cardiac activity, typically at about six weeks’ gestation. But Riepe’s new deal with his conservative colleagues, which contains a stricter ban than he proposed, could spur […]
The post Proposed 12-week abortion cutoff hits sooner than Riepe’s, with no exception for fetal anomalies appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — The latest fight over gender-affirming care in Nebraska has shifted, at least slightly, from whether there should be restrictions to who should have the final authority in drafting them. A new amendment would combine two of the most controversial topics this legislative session — abortion and gender-affirming care — into Legislative Bill 574, the […]
The post Final say on Nebraska gender care bill would be delegated to executive branch appointee and DHHS appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
Jennifer Adkins’ first pregnancy was near-perfect. She sailed through her appointments and screenings with no complications, ticking every box and making lists of all the right questions to ask her medical professionals. By the time her unmedicated labor was over and the nurses placed her newborn son on her chest, Adkins felt like a superhero. […]
The post Post-Roe abortion bans force pregnant people with life-threatening complications to travel appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature fell one vote short Thursday of passing a ban on abortions after an ultrasound detects embryonic cardiac activity, at about six weeks into a pregnancy. Republican State Sen. Joni Albrecht’s Legislative Bill 626, fell in a similar fashion as the near-total abortion ban proposed last year. Both lost to Democratic-led […]
The post Nebraska abortion ban tied to cardiac activity falls one vote short; 20-week limit remains intact appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers released a legal opinion Tuesday disputing two top concerns about a proposed abortion ban tied to the ultrasound detection of embryonic cardiac activity. The Legislature is expected to begin a pivotal second round of debate over State Sen. Joni Albrecht’s Legislative Bill 626 on Thursday. Hilgers and Solicitor […]
The post Nebraska AG’s opinion says abortion bill wouldn’t put doctors at risk of a crime appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
Somewhere among Bible quotes and men lecturing on women’s bodies came this: “Our state population has not grown except by those foreigners who have moved here or refugees who have been placed here. Why is that? It’s because we’ve killed 200,000 people. These are people we’ve killed. [They] could be working and filling some of […]
The post Insult, silence fail us all in the Legislature appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs can continue providing service members with access to abortion in cases of life-threatening complications, rape or incest, after the U.S. Senate narrowly blocked a measure Wednesday that would have scrapped a new Biden administration rule. The VA policy, which also includes abortion counseling, was established after the U.S. […]
The post Abortion services to remain available at the VA after close U.S. Senate vote appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
OMAHA — U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., with help from House Republican leadership and national GOP donors, set a financial marker this spring to tell potential challengers that the cost of running against the four-term incumbent is going up. Bacon’s campaign raised $483,000 in the first quarter of 2023. His federal political committee to elect […]
The post Rep. Don Bacon raises record Q1 funds for NE-02 race in presidential year appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird told more than 200 people at a candidate forum Thursday that her opponent, former State Sen. Suzanne Geist, is bad for business, while Geist described Lincoln under Gaylor Baird’s watch as a harder place to do business than it should be. Gaylor Baird said Geist’s legislative record could cost […]
The post Lincoln mayoral candidates Gaylor Baird and Geist trade jabs over which is best for business appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — As debate begins on a Nebraska proposal to ban nearly all abortions in the state, some medical professionals are worried about how exceptions in the law would be utilized. Legislative Bill 626, proposed by State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, would outlaw abortions at around six weeks when cardiac activity can be detected. […]
The post Some Nebraska doctors fear ‘collateral damage’ from proposed near-total abortion ban appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — A legislative bill that supporters and opponents agree would outlaw abortions in Nebraska before many women know they’re pregnant heads into Wednesday’s first round of debate with reportedly just enough votes to overcome cloture — 33 — but no wiggle room. State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston appears to have held together a […]
The post Debate begins this week on Nebraska abortion ban timed to cardiac activity appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen picked former prosecutor Carolyn Bosn on Thursday to replace one of law enforcement’s favorites in the Legislature, State Sen. Suzanne Geist. Pillen said he knew and trusted Bosn’s “extraordinary public servant heart” because she grew up in his hometown of Columbus. He said their families have known each other […]
The post Pillen appoints Carolyn Bosn, former Lancaster County prosecutor, to replace Geist in Legislature appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats appear lukewarm about pursuing reproductive rights legislation in a divided Congress, even as a federal judge in Texas considers overturning access to abortion pills nationwide. Interviews by States Newsroom with Democrats, who control the Senate by a narrow margin, found little optimism they could counter a ruling that could potentially […]
The post As future of abortion pill is weighed, Democrats in Congress see little they can do appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tommy Tuberville insisted he will smooth things over with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the top Pentagon official said Tuesday that the Alabama senator’s continued hold on 160 defense nominees will affect U.S. military readiness. “We’re gonna work it out,” Tuberville told States Newsroom on his way to the Senate floor Tuesday […]
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LINCOLN — One day after proposed abortion restrictions faced a hiccup in legislative support, a Nebraska lawmaker made the case Thursday for voters to determine whether abortion protections should be enshrined in the State Constitution. Legislative Resolution 18CA and LR 19CA, both proposed by State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, would put the question to […]
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Vice President Kamala Harris, in Des Moines on Thursday, said Iowa is “on the front lines” of the fight over abortion access. Harris joined a roundtable discussion on reproductive rights with Democratic leaders, health care providers and community advocates at Grand View University in Des Moines. It’s not just lawmakers taking action to strip Americans […]
The post Vice President Kamala Harris cites Iowa’s role in legal challenges to abortion appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — The path to passage for a proposed ban on Nebraska abortions after an ultrasound detects cardiac activity ran into a Ralston-sized roadblock on Wednesday. Ralston State Sen. Merve Riepe, a former hospital administrator who supported previous efforts to restrict abortion, proposed amending the restriction in Legislative Bill 626 to instead make abortions illegal […]
The post Nebraska State Sen. Merv Riepe proposes less stringent, 12-week abortion ban appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Speaker of the Legislature John Arch on Tuesday spelled out the first price he will exact for the persistent filibuster by State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha and others slowing the legislative session to limit how much legislation gets discussed. Arch announced that he would start scheduling floor debate into the evening hours […]
The post Legislative Speaker answers Cavanaugh filibuster by moving up long nights of legislative debate appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — As Nebraska state senators prepare for debate regarding abortion, one lawmaker presented a proposal Friday that aims to provide tax credits to private pregnancy help centers. Legislative Bill 606, proposed by State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, would establish the Nebraska Pregnancy Help Act and offer tax credits to incentivize private donations to […]
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Researchers at the University of California San Francisco are trying to piece together how the end of Roe v. Wade has so far transformed pregnancy-related medical care in America, and the yet-to-be-released preliminary data are alarming, the lead principal investigator told States Newsroom in an exclusive interview. The team has already received dozens of stories […]
The post Doctors recount ‘heart-wrenching’ stories in new study on medical care post-Roe appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
WASHINGTON — Attorneys general representing nearly two dozen Republican states are backing a lawsuit that would remove the abortion pill from throughout the United States after more than two decades, eliminating the option even in states where abortion access remains legal. The state of Missouri filed its own brief in the case Friday while Mississippi […]
The post Attorneys general from 23 GOP-led states back suit seeking to block abortion pill appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Proponents and opponents were given three hours each Wednesday to argue over State Sen. Joni Albrecht’s bill aimed at outlawing abortions in Nebraska after an ultrasound detects fetal cardiac activity. Hundreds in an overflow crowd waited hours to testify for two or three minutes to the seven members of the Legislature’s Health and […]
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In the third week of the Nebraska Legislature’s 2023 session, state senators approved the session’s permanent rules and considered a motion that could have ended the Legislature at a fraction of its 90-day session. Senators introduced 348 bills and five resolutions or constitutional amendments during the third week. Gov. Jim Pillen also unveiled his tax […]
The post Keeping Up With the Legislature: Days 9-12 (Jan. 16-20) appeared first on News Nebraska.
In the second week of the Nebraska Legislature’s 2023 session, state senators approved committee assignments, began considering dozens of procedural changes and previewed how abortion will define much of the session. Senators introduced 319 bills and 12 resolutions or constitutional amendments during the second week and have two more days, Jan. 17-18, to introduce more. […]
The post Keeping Up With the Legislature: Days Four-Eight (Jan. 9-13) appeared first on News Nebraska.