The Nebraska state legislature has passed a bill banning dismemberment abortions that tear off babies’ limbs. The unicameral chamber voted 33-8 to approve the measure.
Pro-abortion Democrats blocked the bill previously but lawmakers gave the measure first-round approval on a 34-9 vote after supporters broke through a filibuster led by abortion supporters. To overcome Democrats’ filibuster, the Dismemberment Abortion Ban (LB 814) needed at least 33 votes.
The bill would prohibit abortion procedures that use clamps, forceps or similar instruments to remove pieces of a living unborn baby from his/her mother’s womb. These abortions typically are referred to as dilation and evacuation, or D&E, and are common in the second trimester when unborn babies are nearly fully developed. The ban does not apply to unborn babies who are already dead. Doctors who violate the ban would face fines and felony charges.
“I think it’s a fitting time to ask ourselves what’s the value of life,” Sen. Suzanne Geist, of Lincoln, who sponsored the bill, said during the debate. “LB814 would end the practice of killing a live baby in the second trimester of pregnancy by pulling off its arms and legs piece by piece until it either bleeds to death, its spinal cord is cut or its skull is crushed. It’s an unthinkable way to dispose of a child.”
Leading pro-life groups applauded passage of the bill.
“Life has won today in Nebraska. By ending dismemberment abortion, our state has demonstrated and reaffirmed its deep respect for the human dignity of preborn children and their mothers,” said Marion Miner, Associate Director for Pro-Life and Family at the Nebraska Catholic Conference. “Passing LB814 will again establish Nebraska as a national leader in the cause for life. We are committed to affirming the humanity of every single life and making every form of abortion unthinkable.”
“We are grateful to Nebraska state Senator Suzanne Geist who bravely fought to protect living unborn children from the cruelty of dismemberment abortions in the state of Nebraska,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life (NRLC). “We praise the hard work of our Nebraska affiliate, Nebraska Right to Life, and their executive director, Julie Schmit-Albin, who worked tirelessly to make this victory possible.”
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When the governor signs the bill, Nebraska will join 12 other states with bans on dismemberment abortions. These states include Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Ohio, North Dakota, and Indiana.
Meanwhile, pro-abortion Democrats slammed the bill as a waste of time and a violation of women’s freedom.
“We aren’t truly free unless we can make decisions about our own lives, our own bodies,” said state Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha.
Earlier this month, Hunt promised to use every devious trick up her sleeves to fight against the bill, including a filibuster.
“I’m going to pull every shenanigan out of my sleeve to stop this bill. And that might not be something you like but when you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes,” she said.
The bill would protect unborn babies from barbaric, torturous deaths, a former abortionist and retired OB-GYN Dr. Kathi Aultman told the state legislature in February, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
Aultman, who later became pro-life, described how she used to abort unborn babies in this way. She said she would drain the amniotic fluid from the womb and then use a clamp to pull the baby’s body apart and remove the baby in pieces from the womb, according to the report.
Gov. Pete Ricketts, a pro-life Republican, supports the legislation. And Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson recently released an opinion, at the request of State Sen. Ernie Chambers, concluding that LB814 is “likely constitutional” because it “does not appear that it will impose a substantial obstacle on abortion access in Nebraska.”
The state health department reported 32 D&E abortions in 2018.
Dismemberment is a common second-trimester abortion method in which an unborn baby is typically pulled apart limb from limb while their heart is still beating. In the second trimester, unborn babies are nearly fully formed, and strong scientific evidence indicates they can feel pain.
Eleven states have passed laws to ban dismemberment abortions: Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky and North Dakota. However, the abortion industry is challenging many of them in court.
ACTION: Call or email Nebraska state senators and thank them ending the atrocity of dismemberment abortion.
