Last week, a small but mighty group of state senators stood strongly in support of bodily autonomy and gender equity to ensure that abortion access remains safe and legal in Nebraska. With 33 votes needed to invoke cloture and end the filibuster, the vote fell two short and so the restrictive trigger ban abortion bill, LB 933, is over for this session!
No matter how we each individually feel about abortion, decisions about when, if and how to start a family belong to women. We thank the 15 senators for trusting women and voting in alignment with the majority of Nebraskans who want politics out of women’s reproductive health care.
To each person who showed up to testify in support of abortion access during committee hearings, who contacted their senator, who rallied and marched with us, and who listened during floor debate—we see you and we THANK YOU for using your voice for gender and racial justice. We’d also like to give a special shoutout to our partners in this advocacy effort—ACLU of Nebraska, I Be Black Girl and Planned Parenthood. Without control over our own bodies, we are not free. Together, we will continue our unwavering support of bodily autonomy for all Nebraskans.
We’ll provide a full update on policy efforts to advance gender and racial equity after the session ends next Wednesday, April 20.
A quick update on bills still moving:
- LB 121 – to eliminate the lifetime ban on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for individuals with certain previous convictions failed to advance from Select File late Monday after senators adjourned before a vote was taken.
- LB 881 – to remove sales tax on menstrual products and require detention facilities to provide these items for free was successfully amended onto LB 984 during select file and advanced to final reading.
- LB 1009 – to establish a domestic abuse death review team, successfully amended onto LB 741, passed final reading yesterday 46-0 and now heads to the Governor.
- LB 1246 – to provide survivors of sexual assault and sex trafficking with anonymity after they report an incident passed the full legislature 47-0 and now goes to the Governor for signature.
Your Vote Matters
Many of the votes this session had slim margins, which shows how much your vote matters in local elections. The Primary Election is May 10. Get registered to vote or check your registration. Make your voting plan. We have collected all the resources in one place—www.OmahaVotes.com—to provide the tools you need to be engaged in electing new representatives.
It’s time to elect leaders who will center gender and racial equity in their decisions!