The Nebraska Legislature is at a near standstill this week because of a pro-abortion Democrat lawmaker’s attempts to block what she claims is “hate against children.”
Last week, state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, D-Omaha, threatened to “annoy” her peers by filibustering every bill in the state legislature until Republican leaders withdraw bills to protect children, including a ban on abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable.
“I will burn the session to the ground over this bill,” Cavanaugh threatened in reference to a bill to prohibit transgender hormones and surgeries on underage children, NBC News reports.
For the past six days, she and a few other pro-abortion Democrat lawmakers have used the filibuster and other rules to halt legislative action, according to KPVI News 6. They can do so because Nebraska has a single legislative body and, although Republicans hold a majority of the seats, they are one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to block a filibuster.
Others helping Cavanaugh include Sens. Megan Hunt, D-Omaha, Danielle Conrad, D-Lincoln, and Jane Raybould, D-Lincoln, the report continues. Hunt described their group as a “coven caucus” on Twitter, a reference to witchcraft.
ACTION ALERT: To support this pro-life bill, Contact Nebraska state lawmakers.
Meanwhile, abortion activists and leftist news outlets are treating the women as heroines for their defiant, anti-child actions.
One of the bills that they oppose, the Nebraska Heartbeat Act (LB 626), would prohibit abortions once an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detected, which typically happens by six weeks of pregnancy. Exceptions would be allowed for rape, incest and medical emergencies.
Currently, aborting an unborn baby is legal for any reason up to 20 weeks in Nebraska. Last year, the state legislature narrowly failed to pass similar legislation because pro-abortion Democrats filibustered.
“If this legislature collectively decides that legislating hate against children is our priority, then I am going to make it painful; painful for everyone,” Cavanaugh said last week. “Because if you want to inflict pain upon our children, I am going to inflict pain upon this body.”
“I have nothing, nothing but time, and I am going to use all of it,” she added.
But state Senate Speaker John Arch said he does not plan to re-prioritize legislation just because of Cavanaugh, according to the report.
Here’s more from KPVI:
Under the Legislature’s rules, opponents are allowed to filibuster most bills for up to eight hours in the first round of debate, then four hours in the second round and two hours in the final round. …
If Cavanaugh keeps it up, she estimates, the Legislature would only have time to pass 30 to 40 bills. Even fewer bills could pass, she said, if lawmakers aren’t willing to debate late into the evening, or if she can take up time in other ways. Last Thursday, for example, she ate up an hour of debate on a rules suspension motion.
Earlier this year, Sandy Danek, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said Nebraskans want unborn babies to be protected from abortion. She told a legislative committee about a recent poll from SBA Pro-Life America that found 58 percent of Nebraska voters support the heartbeat bill, according to the Unicameral Update.
“… people want preborn life to be protected,” Danek said. “Advancing policies like the Nebraska Heartbeat Act is consistent with Nebraska values.”
The pro-life legislation also has the support of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, doctors and Gov. Jim Pillen, a pro-life Republican.
Because the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, 14 states now are enforcing pro-life laws that prohibit or strictly limit the killing of unborn babies in abortions, and others are fighting in court to do the same. Pro-life leaders estimate tens of thousands of babies’ lives already have been saved.
Polls consistently show a strong majority of Americans support legal protections for unborn babies, especially after the first trimester or once their heartbeat is detectable.
ACTION ALERT: To support this pro-life bill, Contact Nebraska state lawmakers.
