Competing abortion ballot measures can appear on November ballot, court rules

Nebraska’s Supreme Court said Friday rival abortion initiatives can appear on the November ballot, setting up the choice for voters to choose between keeping current limits in place or broadening access.

Its decision followed oral arguments on Monday, where two lawyers representing Nebraska women told justices the initiative aiming to expand abortion rights until fetal viability unconstitutionally combined two subjects.

In a countersuit, a group of doctors asked for the same constitutional test to be applied to the opposing measure that proposes enshrining Nebraska’s current 12-week limit.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled neither ballot initiative violates the constitution and denied the requested removals.

In a statement through her attorney Brenna Grasz, plaintiff and Lincoln-based neonatologist Catherine Brooks said she was disappointed by the decision.

“The Protect Our Rights abortion initiative attempts to create a new constitutional right to abortion for ‘all persons,’” she said. “Nebraska women and medical professionals should not be subjected to vague, unscientific standards, while dangerously expanding the scope of abortion practice.”

Matt Heffron represented Carolyn LaGreca in another lawsuit also asking for the Protect Our Rights-backed initiative to be removed from the ballot. In a statement, he said he was “deeply concerned that the Nebraska Supreme Court has allowed this intentionally deceptive initiative to go before Nebraskans for a confusing vote.”

Both lawsuits raised concerns that the ballot initiative aiming to expand abortion rights had potentially broad health exceptions, creates third-party rights to abortion, redefines a “fetal viability” standard, allows unqualified medical experts to make decisions on abortion and limits state regulation of abortion.

“The parts of the initiative all relate to the same general subject of creating a constitutional right to abortion,” the justices wrote in their decision. “The parts of the initiative define the limits and set parameters for that right and define terms for the purposes of the proposed constitutional provision.”

Allie Berry with Protect Our Rights – the campaign behind the measure aiming to guarantee abortion until fetal viability – said she was grateful for the court’s decision.

“We’re very excited about the decision, Nebraskans deserve the chance to vote on this,” the campaign manager said. “And we feel good about our position and we know that we have the majority. Because at the end of the day, people don’t want the government involved in their personal healthcare decisions.”

The campaign is not worried about their opponents' objections to the ballot language, according to Berry.

“Our ballot language was created with medical practitioners and lawyers, and we’re confident in that,” she said. “Every word of our ballot initiative is focused on getting government out of these personal healthcare decisions and putting the decision back in the hands of pregnant patients and their doctors, exactly where it should be.”

The ruling likely leaves voters to decide between expanding abortion access or keeping the 12-week limit in the November election.

If both proposals are approved by a majority of voters, whichever receives the most votes will be adopted into the Nebraska constitution, according to a state law established in 1912.