LINCOLN, Nebraska (LifeSiteNews) — Nebraskans will vote on two opposing abortion-related ballot measures this November: one that declares abortion a “fundamental right” and another that would ban it in the second and third trimesters.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced yesterday that the each of the constitutional amendments obtained enough signatures to appear on the ballot. Nine other states, including Florida, South Dakota, Missouri, Montana, and Arizona will also vote on pro-abortion ballot measures this year, though Nebraska is the only state with two dueling proposed amendments.
“As far as the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office is aware, Nebraska has never before had two conflicting petition efforts make the same ballot,” Evnen said.
The “Protect Women and Children” amendment would change the Nebraska Constitution to state that “unborn children shall be protected from abortion in the second and third trimesters,” except in cases of incest or sexual assault or when an abortion would allegedly be “necessitated by a medical emergency.” Direct abortion is always gravely immoral and never needed nor ethically justified to save a mother’s life.
The amendment, which mirrors Nebraska’s current 12-week abortion ban, does not mention early abortions.
The Nebraska Catholic bishops have nevertheless endorsed the measure “as an incremental step toward full protection of all human life from abortion, and not as a permanent compromise.”
“The voter must accept that the proposal does not create any right to abortion in the Nebraska Constitution,” the bishops said. “The Nebraska Legislature remains free to provide greater protection for human life.”
“The voter must understand that this proposal is an imperfect alternative to the intrinsically evil pro-abortion ballot initiative proposal launched in November. That pro-abortion ballot initiative cannot be supported under any circumstance and must be rejected,” they added.
The “Right to Abortion Initiative,” backed by a pro-abortion coalition that includes Planned Parenthood and the far-left ACLU, would “amend the Nebraska Constitution to provide all persons the fundamental right 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, as LifeSiteNews reported.
The Nebraska Catholic Conference has stressed that the language of the amendment also threatens parental involvement requirements for underage girls seeking abortions, as well health and safety regulations for abortion businesses.
According to Secretary of State Evnen, while each of the proposed amendments garnered more than 136,000 signatures, backers of the “Protect Women and Children” amendment collected valid signatures from at least 5 percent of registered voters in 86 Nebraska counties, while supporters of the pro-abortion measure gathered signatures from at least 5 percent of voters in only 47 counties.
Evnen further explained that a ballot measure needs more “for” votes than “against” votes to pass and must win at least 35 percent of all votes cast in an election to be in favor of the proposal.
“If conflicting ballot measures receive enough votes to pass, the ballot measure that receives the highest number of ‘For’ votes will prevail to the extent of the conflict,” he continued. “The Governor is responsible for determining whether there is a conflict.”