The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Nebraska for its laws banning abortions at 12 weeks and sex change surgeries for minors.
Republican Governor Jim Pillen signed the Let Them Grow Act and the Preborn Child Protection Act, LB574, into law on May 22. The ACLU filed a lawsuit Tuesday in a state trial court on behalf of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) and abortion provider Dr. Sarah Traxler, alleging the law violates a provision of the state constitution that states, “No bill shall contain more than one subject.”
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the law “unconstitutional and void in its entirety” under the Nebraska Constitution. LB 574 includes its 12-week abortion ban, the Preborn Child Protection Act, in sections 1-6 of the bill, while banning “gender-altering surgeries” and restricting puberty blockers for minors in sections 14-20, the Let Them Grow Act.
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“Although both components of LB 574 took away Nebraskans’ freedoms, ultimately we are talking about two entirely unrelated subjects: gender-related care for trans youth and abortion access,” ACLU of Nebraska interim executive director Mindy Rush Chipman said in a statement. “We believe the combination of those bans violated the clear text of our state’s constitution.
“And the end result of senators’ failure to adhere to the single subject requirement was a rushed process that circumvented critical legislative guardrails,” Rush Chipman continued.
Pillen celebrated the bill’s passing last week, saying “we are standing up and protecting our kids so that they can have a better and brighter future.”
“LB574 is the most significant win for social conservatives in a generation, and is part of what has been a historic legislative session with senators voting for policies that protect our kids, cut taxes, grow agriculture, and defend our Nebraska values,” he said.
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CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States Ruth Richardson said that Nebraskans are “already being harmed under this dangerous abortion ban that was pushed through the Legislature using unprecedented tactics.”
“We are already having to inform patients that they will be unable to get the critical health care they need in Nebraska, and we only expect to see that number grow,” Richardson said.
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