The Nebraska Supreme Court has approved sending two competing ballot measures to voters, setting up a major showdown over abortion policy on Election Day.
One ballot measure introduced by pro-life advocates would create a fundamental right to abortion “up to the time the fetus is viable.” Another measure introduced by anti-abortion advocates would enshrine the state's current ban on abortions before 12 weeks into the state constitution.
Current Nebraska law allows for exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is endangered.
Anti-abortion groups have filed two lawsuits challenging the competing ballot measures, arguing they violate state policy that such measures must relate to only one subject.
The lawsuit argues that the ballot measure touches on three separate issues: the right to an abortion up to viability, the right to an abortion after viability to protect a woman's health, and whether states should be allowed to regulate abortion.
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Nebraska voters will decide the state's future on abortion law through two competing ballot measures on Election Day.
The state Supreme Court rejected those challenges in a ruling Friday, allowing the measure to appear on the ballot.
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Organizers of each ballot measure submitted more than 200,000 signatures in support of the measure, far exceeding the required number of 123,000.
The legal battle comes as Democrats across the country are trying to make abortion a key issue in an effort to outdo Republicans, an effort that was on full display during last week's presidential debate, when Vice President Kamala Harris blasted the end of Roe v. Wade under former President Trump.
Harris argued that Trump would sign a nationwide abortion ban if elected in November. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Harris claimed that Trump would sign a nationwide abortion ban if elected in November – a claim Trump denied, pointing instead to ballot measures like those currently on the books in Nebraska.
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“When it comes to banning abortion, I'm not in favor of it, but that doesn't matter, because that issue is now up to the states,” Trump said.
“I believe there should be exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother,” he said. “I believe that very strongly. So did Ronald Reagan. Eighty-five percent of Republicans knew that the exceptions were very important.”
Trump has said abortion laws should be handled by states, not the federal government. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
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Many states have adopted ballot measures regarding abortion since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. Some, like California, have more clearly enshrined the right to abortion in law, while others, like Louisiana, have paved the way for further restrictions on abortion.
