(LifeSiteNews) — Multiple abortion-related ballot initiatives are currently vying for inclusion on Nebraska’s November 2024 ballot, with the deadline fast approaching for backers to collect the signatures they need.
A pro-abortion coalition called “Protect Our Rights” is leading the charge for a so-called Right to Abortion Initiative, which would “amend the Nebraska Constitution to provide all persons the fundamental right [sic] to abortion without interference from the state or its political subdivisions until fetal viability,” with “health” exceptions after “viability” that could be interpreted broadly enough to authorize almost any abortion. The Nebraska Catholic Conference warns that its language also threatens parental involvement requirements for underage abortions, as well any health and safety regulations on the abortion industry as “interference.”
A second proposal, dubbed the Protect Women & Children Amendment, would write into the Nebraska Constitution a prohibition on abortion in the second and third trimesters except for “medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest,” while not addressing early-term abortions. The Nebraska Catholic Conference frames that omission as “leav[ing] protections for preborn babies in the 1st trimester and in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergency to the Nebraska Legislature,” which it says can be supported “as an incremental step toward full protection of all human life from abortion, and not as a permanent compromise.”
In light of that amendment’s deficiency, a third group has proposed a Choose Life Now Amendment, which states that a “preborn child at every stage of development is a person. Whenever under Nebraska law the term ‘person’ is used or implied, it shall include such a child.” The organizers of Choose Life Now argue that the more moderate “pro-life” amendment will “keep current access and abortion in Nebraska, last reported levels of 2,547 surgical and mifepristone abortions in 2022 plus thousands more abortions from in vitro, contraception, [and] research.”
To appear on the fall ballot, each proposal must submit 124,465 valid signatures by July 5. Remarkably, however, Choose Life Now provided LifeSiteNews with a copy of a joint letter the Nebraska Catholic Conference sent out to clergy in the Cornhusker State, revealing that the bishops have advised their flocks against assisting the Choose Life Now Amendment.
“While the goal is one we all share, we are not going to allow signature collection at parishes on this third initiative,” reads the letter, signed by Archbishop of Omaha George J. Lucas, Bishop of Lincoln James D. Conley, and Bishop of Grand Island Joseph G. Hanefeldt. “This ballot initiative effort is confusing for pro-lifers, and some of its promoters are opposing the Bishops’ clear guidance on the pro-life initiative already in circulation. This is not conducive to uniting Catholics against the pro-abortion proposal, which must be defeated.”
LifeSiteNews has reached out to the Nebraska Catholic Conference about the letter and will update this report upon reply.
Despite the opposition, Choose Life Now is committed to doing all it can to gather as many signatures as possible before the end of June.
“We beg you to make Nebraska a safe haven for pregnant mothers and their babies and end abortion in our great state once and for all,” the group writes. “We beg for your help circulating and offering these petitions to others. We believe faithful Nebraskans reject abortion with the simple, clear language that our faithful attorneys, medical professionals, and faith leaders composed, to defend every child and be faithful to Church and Savior. This is a Christian invitation, but we welcome all denominations or faith traditions and all political perspectives to respect life in the womb with the same rights as the child outside the womb.”
Choose Life Now’s website includes extensive resources for supporters of the initiative, including printable petitions, talking points, and comparisons of the different amendments, along with proposed strategies for spreading the word, a sign-up form for willing volunteers, and more. All notarized petitions are to be sent by July 1 to Choose Life Now, P.O. Box 508, Walton, NE 68461.
Currently, Nebrska law prohibits abortions at 12 weeks’ gestation. A six-week heartbeat law failed in April 2023 after liberal Republican state Sen. Merv Riepe sided with Democrats to kill it. The 12-week law provides minimal protections for preborn babies, as 90% of abortions occur at 12 weeks’ gestation or earlier, according to state health data.
Since 2022, the abortion lobby has had great success with state constitutional amendments, which if enacted effectively insulate abortion-on-demand from future state legislation and can only be overridden by a federal abortion ban, prompting much conversation among pro-lifers about the need to develop new strategies to protect life at the ballot box.
Pro-lifers have either failed to enact pro-life amendments or stop pro-abortion ones in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont, and Ohio. This year, there are five abortion-related ballot initiatives confirmed for the November elections, with as many as ten more that could be approved for voting as well.