Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen promised Wednesday to keep working to protect unborn babies after state lawmakers were forced to compromise on a 12-week abortion limit this spring.
Speaking at a townhall meeting in Holdrege, the Republican governor said he wants Nebraska to protect every child’s life from the moment of conception, prompting cheers from the crowd, the Nebraska Examiner reports.
Pillen expressed disappointment that the legislature narrowly failed to pass a heartbeat bill, which would have banned elective abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, about six weeks of pregnancy. Instead, he said the bill “got nicked by one person caving into pressure.”
That individual was state Sen. Merv Riepe, R-Ralston, a co-sponsor of the heartbeat bill. In April, Riepe abstained from voting on the pro-life bill, allowing a Democrat filibuster to prevail – and making it so thousands of babies will continue to be killed in abortions until the legislature can try again next year.
Afterward, Riepe agreed to support a 12-week abortion limit, which passed and now is in effect.
However, Sandy Danek, Executive Director of Nebraska Right to Life, said the law will not save nearly as many lives as the heartbeat law would have.
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“Unfortunately, since approximately 90 percent of abortions occur before 12 weeks, that’s still so many lives being lost,” she said in May. “We will continue to work, as we have for more than 50 years, to protect all Nebraska preborn babies.”
Pillen said Wednesday that he shares that goal, according to the Examiner.
“We didn’t give up,” he said. “… I pushed hard to get us to 12, but we’re going to end abortion.”
Asked about a lawsuit challenging the law, the governor expressed confidence that the protections for unborn babies will be upheld, according to the report. Earlier this month, a district court judge refused to block the law at the request of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the ACLU of Nebraska.
“We’re going to fight like heck, and we’re going to win,” Pillen said. “We’ve worked really, really hard with the legislation. … And just so you know, the 12-week-old life bill, that’s rock solid.”
The governor said Nebraska could pass a law to protect all unborn babies if pro-life lawmakers gain two seats in the state legislature, and he is working to make that happen.
Prior to the 12-week ban, abortions were legal for any reason up to 20 weeks in Nebraska. In 2021, 2,360 unborn babies were aborted, according to the state health department.
