The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that two conflicting constitutional amendments related to abortion can appear on the state’s ballot this fall. One measure, “Protect the Right to Abortion,” would grant a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability or to protect the mother’s life or health, effectively undoing the state’s current restrictions. The other, “Protect Women and Children,” would ban abortions in the second and third trimesters, with exceptions for medical emergencies, rape, or incest. Opponents argued that the abortion rights amendment violated a rule about addressing one subject, but the Supreme Court disagreed.
The Nebraska secretary of state will hold hearings in October to discuss these measures, among four other unrelated ones. There is concern from anti-abortion rights advocates about the decision, while the ACLU in Nebraska praised the ruling for allowing residents to make decisions about their own reproductive health. This decision comes as part of a national trend, with 10 states including Nebraska having abortion-related amendments on the ballot. Despite being conservative-leaning states, voters in Ohio, Kentucky, and Kansas have recently supported measures protecting or expanding abortion rights. This has implications for the upcoming election in key battleground states like Arizona and Nevada.
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