MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
There has been a twist today in the state-by-state debate over abortion rights that is rippling across the country. Nebraska is now the 10th – likely final – state to put the question on the ballot for this fall. Unlike the other states, it will have not one, but two rival abortion proposals for voters to decide on. The two campaigns are both gearing up, and Elizabeth Rembert from Nebraska Public Media joins us now from Omaha. Hi, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH REMBERT, BYLINE: Hello.
KELLY: Talk me through what happened today to put these two on the ballot in Nebraska.
REMBERT: Yeah. Today, the Nebraska Secretary of State confirmed that two petition efforts collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Right now, most abortions in Nebraska are banned past 12 weeks of pregnancy, and one petition would enshrine that 12-week law as a constitutional amendment while allowing for future restrictions. The other would expand abortion rights until fetal viability – typically around 24 weeks or so – and make exceptions for the life or health of the pregnant patient.
And here’s something interesting, Mary Louise. They could both be approved by voters. If that happens, since they conflict, it looks like whichever one gets the most votes will be added to the Constitution. But this hasn’t happened before, so we’ll have to see how it goes.
KELLY: Absolutely fascinating. And tell me more about politics in Nebraska. Like, what do they look like around this issue?
REMBERT: Well, Nebraska’s legislature tightened abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to an abortion two years ago. Abortion in Nebraska used to be allowed until 20 weeks of pregnancy. But last May, lawmakers brought that access down to 12 weeks. And pro-abortion-rights activists started organizing last year to get this onto the ballot. Jasmine Smith has been involved with the pro-abortion-rights petition since the start because she says she cares about people having a wide range of choices for their pregnancies.
JASMINE SMITH: I’m a mother. I’m also a full-spectrum doula, and I’m an abortion doula. So I see both sides of it – from conception and then even in the labor and delivery room.
REMBERT: Now, the effort to keep the 12-week law in place actually sprang up in response to this pro-abortion-rights organizing. The people behind this rival petition say they believe most Nebraskans think the current law is a good compromise and that they want a choice at the ballot box in November.
KELLY: It sounds like you are in for an intense and very complicated campaign in the weeks ahead.
REMBERT: Yeah. Both sides have already committed millions of dollars, and they say that they’re really planning to get out in front of voters. They say they’re going to focus hard on not only answering questions about their own proposals, but also pointing out their concerns with the rival petition. Marjorie Dannenfelser is the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and she told me that she thinks education is going to be critical to making sure voters are motivated to keep the 12-week law in place.
MARJORIE DANNENFELSER: If the only thing that people hear is, we’re going to give you abortion rights again, then we’re in trouble. The only way that it gets changed is that people don’t know what’s in the bad, as we see it, constitutional language.
REMBERT: I think that we’re going to be seeing a lot of town halls, a lot of billboards and, just overall, a lot of voter outreach.
KELLY: And real quick, catch us up on where things stand in the nine other states with abortion on the ballot.
REMBERT: Yeah, those ballot questions are mostly backed by pro-abortion-rights groups. About half are in states with tight restrictions, like Missouri and Florida, and they’re trying to expand access there.
In Arkansas yesterday, a court blocked an effort to expand access, meaning that state will keep its near-total ban.
KELLY: Right.
REMBERT: And then the other ballot questions are in states where abortion is widely legal, and activists are trying to solidify those laws in the constitutions.
KELLY: Okey-doke – Elizabeth Rembert of Nebraska Public Media, thanks so much.
REMBERT: Thank you.
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