["We are committed to exploring all possible options to protect
our rights in Nebraska and restore the rights Nebraskans lost when
politicians passed an abortion ban earlier this year," said one
organizer.]
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AS ABORTION RIGHTS WIN VOTES ACROSS US, NEBRASKA BECOMES LATEST STATE
TO LAUNCH REFERENDUM  
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Julia Conley
August 18, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "We are committed to exploring all possible options to protect our
rights in Nebraska and restore the rights Nebraskans lost when
politicians passed an abortion ban earlier this year," said one
organizer. _

An abortion rights demonstrator holds a sign outside of the Harris
County Courthouse during the Women's Wave march in Houston, Texas, on
October 8, 2022. , Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

 

Three rights groups in Nebraska plan to make the state one of a
growing number where constituents are being asked directly whether
they approve of the Republican Party's efforts to ban access to
abortion care, with the coalition filing paperwork to include a ballot
initiative in the 2024 elections.

_NBC News_ affiliate _WOWT_ in Omaha reported
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Thursday that officials at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska
(PPAN), I Be Black Girl, and Nebraska Abortion Resources updated their
ballot initiative registration that day after initially filing
organizational papers on August 4.

They are forming a coalition called Protect Our Rights to promote the
initiative, the precise language of which has not yet been determined.

The coalition told the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure
Commission (NADC) that its intended purpose is to place a question on
2024 ballots regarding a new amendment to the state constitution that
would protect the right to abortion.

"We are considering a ballot initiative, specifically, because we know
the majority of Nebraskans agree that the government shouldn't be
involved in personal decisions about healthcare."

The news was reported a week after a judge in Lancaster County,
Nebraska rejected 
[[link removed]]abortion
rights advocates' legal challenge to the state's 12-week abortion ban,
which the groups said they will continue to fight in court. The ban
was signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Pillen in May.

"We are committed to exploring all possible options to protect our
rights in Nebraska and restore the rights Nebraskans lost when
politicians passed an abortion ban earlier this year," the group said
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a statement Thursday. "We are considering a ballot initiative,
specifically, because we know the majority of Nebraskans agree that
the government shouldn't be involved in personal decisions about
healthcare."

Protect Our Rights announced its formation days after advocates in
Arizona announced
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own initiative to place a referendum on 2024 ballots regarding a
constitutional amendment that would affirm that residents have the
right abortion care.

Since the right-wing majority of the U.S. Supreme Court overturned
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v. Wade_ last year and cleared the way for states to ban abortion
care, voters in states including Kansas
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and Montana
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approved referendums to guarantee abortion rights
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constitutional amendments or to stop lawmakers from banning abortion
care.

Those votes have shown that abortion rights are "becoming more and
more of a nonpartisan issue," PPAN executive director Andi Curry
Grubb told
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Examiner _on Thursday.

"I think the majority of Nebraskans agree that the government
shouldn't be involved in these decisions," said Curry Grubb.

Organizers will need to collect the signatures of 10% of the state's
registered voters—just under 123,000 people. They must also collect
signatures of 5% of registered voters in 38 of the state's 93
counties.

According to
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filings, the coalition had collected or spent $5,000 on the initiative
as of August 11.

"Protect Our Rights is a grassroots coalition who believe that all
Nebraskans have a right to the freedom to make their own decisions
about pregnancy and abortion, without government interference," said
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coalition. "These deeply personal decisions should be treated with
compassion and privacy."

JULIA CONLEY is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

COMMON DREAMS -- To inform.  To Inspire.  To ignite change for the
Common good.  Donate to Common Dreams.
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* abortion rights
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* Referendum
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* Nebraska
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