Abortion rights petition drive ready to push for 'fetal viability'
Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban would be moved to roughly 24 weeks if one abortion rights group gets its way.
The group Protect Our Rights is making public the wording of a proposed petition aimed at putting the issue to Nebraska voters in November 2024.
According to the group Protect Our Rights, the words “until fetal viability” would be front and center for the name gathering effort.
The group defines fetal viability in its petition language as "the point in pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the patient’s treating health care practitioner, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures."
According to the National Institutes of Health, “In the United States viability presently occurs at approximately 24 weeks of gestational age.”
The 12-week ban was enacted earlier this year, replacing a 20-week ban that had been on the books since 2010.
State Sen. Joni Albrecht, (R): "This extreme proposal would allow late-term abortion throughout pregnancy, eliminate health and safety standards, and allow minors to obtain abortions without parental notification. Abortion is legal in the first trimester in Nebraska with clear exceptions for the life of the mother and medical emergencies throughout pregnancy."
Protect Our Rights plans to launch its statewide petition drive Thursday.
The group will need to collect signatures from 10% of Nebraska’s registered voters to get its constitutional amendment on next year’s ballot, that’s about 122,000 valid signatures, including 5% of registered voters in at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.