Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds Restrictions on Abortion, Transgender Procedures for Minors

The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld a law that restricts transgender medical procedures for minors and abortion after 12 weeks after it was challenged in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Planned Parenthood.

Nebraska LB574, a hybrid bill known as Adopt the Let Them Grow Act and the Preborn Child Protection Act, came to be after a six-week abortion ban failed to defeat a filibuster, so Republican legislators added a less restrictive statute to an existing bill to stop “gender-affirming treatment” for children, the Associated Press reported. 

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Representing Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the ACLU sued due to the bill containing more than one subject — a point that was rejected by the state’s highest court on Friday.

While the court acknowledged that abortion and sex-change procedures “are distinct types of medical care,” it found that the law does not violate Nebraska’s single-subject rule because they both fall into the overall category of medicine. 

“Ultimately, if a bill has but one general object, no matter how broad that object may be, and contains no matter not germane thereto, and the title fairly expresses the subject of the bill, it does not violate’” the state constitution’s single-subject rule, Chief Justice Mike Heavican wrote in his opinion for the court, obtained by the outlet.

In what the AP described as a “scathing” dissent, Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman accused the majority of hypocrisy, citing a 2020 ruling that blocked a ballot initiative seeking to legalize the use and production of medical marijuana after deeming that it violated the single-subject rule.

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“It was the duty of the Legislature … to compose legislation, including titling, which stated ‘one subject’; failure to so compose renders the bill unconstitutional,” Miller-Lerman wrote. “It is not the role of this court to rescue legislative bills.”

One of the ACLU’s attorneys argued that the state legislature already recognized that abortion and transgender care such as hormones and surgeries were separate topics when they originally introduced them as such. 

“It pushed them together only when it was constrained to do so,” lawyer Matt Segal argued.

Gov. Jim Pillen (R) gave “thanks to God” in response to the court’s ruling in a statement obtained by KETV:

I am grateful for the court’s thorough and well-reasoned opinion upholding these important protections for life and children in Nebraska. There was a dark moment last year when many feared that a victory for unborn babies was impossible and that the pro-life coalition might break apart. I was honored to partner with faithful allies and leaders across the state to combine the abortion ban with protections for kids against irreversible sex change surgeries. We worked overtime to bring that bill to my desk, and I give thanks to God that I had the privilege to sign it into law. I immediately directed our state government agencies to swiftly bring these protections into effect. I am grateful for their work and for the work of the Attorney General to defend it.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R), who was named in the lawsuit, wrote:

We are grateful for the work of the Court, and its ruling upholding the constitutionality of L.B. 574. The Legislature passed Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban and its ban on gender-altering procedures for minors, and we are pleased that the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Legislature’s work.

In Nebraska, anyone under the age of 19 is considered a minor — so even 18-year-olds will not be able to obtain sex-change surgeries. 

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has vowed to continue providing abortion up to 12 weeks, the outlet reported. 

“We will never stop fighting for freedom, bodily autonomy and the health of our communities,” said Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. 

“This is devastating news for impacted Nebraskans, but it won’t be the final word on abortion access or the rights of trans youth and their families in Nebraska,” said the state’s ACLU chapter on X:

“We’ll continue doing all we can to ensure that these decisions rest with Nebraskans, not the government,” the organization added.