Changes in rape cases advance, gender transition limits heard by Legislature

Rape victims could get advance warning about questions they might be asked in legal proceedings in an attempt to avoid retraumatizing them under a bill advancing in the Legislature. And lawmakers heard a proposal for further restrictions on medical options for transgender youth on Thursday.

Sen. Wendy DeBoer is the lead sponsor of the bill (LB103) that would expand Nebraska’s so-called rape shield law governing how legal cases proceed. DeBoer said the proposal tries to balance the rights of accused perpetrators to a vigorous defense, with the needs of victims not to be retraumatized. DeBoer described the aim of the current law to protect victims, “to prevent the use of irrelevant and prejudicial evidence about a sexual assault victims past involving third parties, and to protect against the retraumatization of victims through grueling questioning and cross examination about their past sexual behavior or sexual predisposition.”

“Unfortunately, ambiguities remain in the law that have led to unnecessary, and in some cases, invasive questions of victims, both in court and during pretrial proceedings, particularly during depositions,” she added.

To correct that, DeBoer’s proposal would require lawyers to ask a judge’s permission for certain questions they want to pose in a private session, before a deposition. The questions would then be allowed if the court finds the testimony could be relevant and admissible at trial.

Sen. Danielle Conrad opposed the proposal.

“What this measure ultimately does is limit the ability of those who are accused of serious crimes from utilizing their constitutional rights to understand how to defend themselves, if the facts indeed permit such. It further stacks the deck against the accused in favor of the government, who has unlimited resources to carry out their case,” Conrad said.

But Sen. Carolyn Bosn said the proposal strikes the right balance.

“Colleagues, this bill does not eliminate due process. It reinforces it, by clarifying standards and requiring notice and judicial review before sensitive material is raised," Bosn said. "LB103 promotes fairness for all parties and keeps the proceedings focused on relevant facts. As chair of the Judiciary Committee, I believe this legislation reflects careful balance, responsible compromise and sound policy."

Senators then gave the bill first-round approval on a vote of 35-5.

Thursday afternoon, the Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing on a proposal (LB732) to prohibit prescribing puberty blockers or hormones used for gender transitioning to people under age 19.

Sen. Kathleen Kauth, sponsor of the bill, said it would protect young people.

“LB732 protects minors from irreversible experimental medical interventions that carry significant unresolved risks and lack high-quality, long-term evidence of benefit,” Kauth said. "Children and adolescents are developmentally incapable of providing informed consent procedures that permanently alter sexual function, fertility and healthy bodily development."

Kauth proposed a similar ban in 2023. The Legislature modified it to ban surgery, while allowing hormone treatments and puberty blockers for young people after certain conditions were met. The state later adopted conditions, including 40 hours of counseling, before the treatments could begin.

Kauth said she undertook her latest effort after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar ban in Tennessee last summer.

At a news conference before the hearing, A.T. Miller of Out Nebraska, an LGBTQ advocacy group, said Kauth’s proposal would block services needed by young people.

“Gender-affirming care is evidence-based medicine supported by every major medical association in the country. That's not opinion, that's an established medical fact. These bills replace medical expertise with political interference,” Miller said.

In the hearing, Dr. Merlin Wealing supported Kauth’s proposal. Wealing described seeing complications in the intensive care unit from medical interventions to support young people’s gender transitioning.

“I see patients in the ICU with blood clots. I see patients with chronic pain. I see patients with urinary sepsis, patients with ureteral stenosis. All of the problems and issues that we normally have are multiplied because the body is not designed to transition, especially at this early age,” Wealing said.

Testifying on behalf of the Nebraska Medical Association, Dr. Elizabeth Constance opposed the bill.

“While we understand and share the desire to protect children, the NMA believes that medical decisions are best made within the exam room, not in state statute,” Constance said. "When the government legislates that certain evidence-based treatments are never appropriate, it sets a dangerous precedent for all of medicine. It limits the options families can consider, and prevents doctors from following the most current research and clinical findings."

The bill is one of three that Kauth introduced this year on transgender topics. Another would extend the time limit for suing health care professionals, for people who claim they were harmed by gender transiting treatment, from two years to 12. A third would restrict people to using bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their sex at birth.

Kauth has named that third bill her priority bill for this year, making it the most likely of the three to be debated if it gets out of committee.

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