Nebraska state lawmakers introduced a bill that would prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is usually when a fetal heartbeat is detected, WOWT reported.
State Sen. Joni Albrecht (R) announced the introduction of The Nebraska Heartbeat Act with several other state lawmakers in the capitol rotunda on Wednesday morning. The bill would move the state’s current abortion law from prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks to six weeks.
Albrecht’s abortion bill failed last year by two votes, though the state senator told WOWT “I believe I do” when asked whether she thinks she has the votes to pass the legislation this time.
“We have 85 percent of the babies who would be saved with this six-week ban,” she said.
Today, Senator @JoniAlbrecht1 announced she will be introducing two pro-life, NFA-supported bills to protect unborn children and support pregnant women and families in Nebraska. This could stop 85% of abortions in our state and save 2,000 lives every year! #NELeg pic.twitter.com/VeRthBowJJ
— NE Family Alliance (@nebfamily) January 11, 2023
The bill does not add criminal penalties but proposes that doctors who perform abortions past six weeks of pregnancy lose their medical licenses, according to the report. The bill also has medical emergency exceptions and exceptions for rape and incest. Dr. Robert Plambeck, an OB-GYN in Lincoln, told the outlet that “nothing in this bill…keeps [him] from providing necessary medical care to a pregnant woman or from terminating a pregnancy in the rare and tragic instance when the mother’s life is at stake.”
Albrecht’s bill includes the Nebraska Pregnancy Help Act, which would provide a $10 million tax credit for donations annually to pregnancy help organizations.
Andi Curry Grubb, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska, told the outlet that the “egregious bill goes against the will of Nebraskans…”
“We cannot know a person’s situation — their health, wellbeing, risks, and futures. Every Nebraskan deserves the right to control their reproductive health and their future. This bill strips them of that right. Politicians should not be making decisions for Nebraska families,” Grubb said.
But pro-life advocates celebrated the bill’s introduction. Sandy Danek, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said the law would “protect the lives of innocent human life within the womb,” according to Life News, a pro-life online news website.
“A discernible heartbeat is the key and universal medical confirmation that life exists, and every heartbeat has a right to live,” Danek continued.
Marion Miner, associate director of Pro-Life & Family Policy at the Nebraska Catholic Conference, noted that a “heartbeat is a universal sign of life.”
“That is indisputable, and Nebraskans agree….We envision a Nebraska where every mom and baby without exception is celebrated, valued, and protected. We should all be able to agree on protecting babies with a beating heart,” Miner said.
Nebraska’s newly elected Gov. Jim Pillen (R) has signaled he would sign off on bills that limited or even outright banned abortion in the state.
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