(Lincoln, NE) -- A proposed bill that would ban abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy fails in its second round of debate in the Nebraska Legislature.
A cloture vote on LB626 Thursday afternoon was one vote short of ending the filibuster. Most bills in the Unicameral that fail the second round of debate, have historically been dead for the remainder of the session. The Speaker of the Legislature does have the option however to bring it back for another vote.
Following the vote, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen issued this statement in response to state senators failing to advance the Nebraska Heartbeat Act:
“I am a staunch defender of life and supporter of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act. I am profoundly disappointed in the cloture vote today. It is unacceptable for senators to be present not voting on such a momentous vote. I call on Senator Merv Riepe to make a motion to reconsider and stand by the commitments to life he has made in the past.”
The Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb issued the following response to the Nebraska Legislature’s motion to end debate and kill LB626 on a 30-15 vote:
"Today, Democrats were joined by 1 Republican to protect women’s reproductive freedom in our state. If it were up to the other state senators, women would have lost a right we held for over half a century. The Democratic Party plans to take this issue to the voters during the 2024 elections so they know which senators wanted to take away their reproductive rights and freedom to make health decisions for ourselves and our families. We thank the state senators, doctors, and grassroots advocates for never giving up and for showing the entire nation that we will not back down from a fight to protect our families.”
For the time being, abortion remains legal in Nebraska up to 20 weeks.