LINCOLN, Neb. -- It appears a bill outlawing abortion after six weeks will take center stage in the Legislature this week.

At the same time, while backers of the bill insist there is an exception for rape and incest victims, two state senators opposed to the ban are ramping up their view that those victims are not protected.

Although the Legislature’s public agenda only goes through Tuesday, ACLU Nebraska is alerting its supporters that the bill (LB626) is set for its “first round of floor debate on Wednesday”. The ACLU, clearly anticipating a tough fight, adding, “We have stopped abortion bans against long odds before. We can do it again.”

Current state law prohibits abortion after 20 weeks and at least one state lawmaker, adding a key wrinkle to the debate, made a move last month to loosen that proposed six-week ban.

State Sen. Merv Reipe—a Ralston Republican—announcing an amendment outlawing abortion after 12 weeks.

Nebraska’s newest state senator, Carolyn Bosn, a pro-life Republican just appointed by the governor, told reporters last week that she’s undecided on the 12-week ban: “To be honest I’m not fully informed on what all that entails, I’m happy to read up on it and I can answer that question maybe better at a later time, but I believe life begins at conception.”

Also last week, State Senators Machaela Cavanaugh (Omaha) and Jen Day (Gretna) filed a 14 page “minority report” objecting to the bill on various grounds.

The two Democrats arguing the bill, unlike what its supporters say, does not allow abortions in cases of rape or incest. According to Cavanaugh and Day, the six-week ban, “would indicate that these crimes must be established or proven to permit the abortion procedure. This would effectively nullify the purported rape exception due to the time it would take to reach a conclusion in a criminal case.”

With opponents of the ban expected to filibuster the bill, it will take 33 votes to move the abortion ban forward and right now those 33 votes are too close to call.