OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska lawmakers would likely be coming back to Lincoln for a special session if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the United States Supreme Court.
This comes after Politico released a leaked majority draft opinion from Associate Justice Samuel Alito that in effect would overturn Roe V. Wade, the landmark 1973 court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
“It’s so hard to go on the news and be hopeless like hopeless, what do you say to people to make them hopeful,” said State Sen. Megan Hunt.
Hunt said while she was prepared for news that Roe v. Wade would be overturned, she was still shocked to hear the news while drinking coffee with a friend Monday.
The progressive Omaha state senator helped to defeat a trigger abortion ban in the Unicameral just a few weeks ago by a narrow margin of two votes.
It appears she’ll likely be fighting against it again.
“Regardless, we'll be coming back with a trigger ban and that means when this reversal happens, we’re going to decide what’s going to happen in Nebraska. Currently, we don’t have any laws in place to tell us,” said Sandy Danek, Executive Director of Nebraska Right to Life.
Danek has been fighting to ban abortion across the state for years. She appeared cautiously optimistic Tuesday but was upset that the ruling was leaked at all.
"I think it’s less likely that a Supreme Court Justice will change their mind. I’m more suspicious this is being done for political reasons,” said Danek.
The anti-abortion movement in Nebraska is a strong one and Danek says everyone comes to it with their own reasoning. For her, it’s from the personal experience of a miscarriage.
“And so if you deliver a child at 20 weeks gestation and see the beauty of that child, and the humanity just comes alive, and then you’re wondering 'why are we destroying these perfectly healthy children?' ” said Danek.
3 News Now went to the abortion clinic in Bellevue where there are often people who stand outside to protest or pray. Tuesday afternoon there was nobody there.
But one woman, Shelley Mann, is a volunteer escort at the clinic. She emphasized that abortion is still legal, but if that changes, she and other progressive groups will still work to give women access to abortion.
“We will be organizing to make sure people can get to states where that access is available to them. We're going providing abortions, we’re going to keep doing what we do until we can’t anymore,” said Mann.
As for current state law, abortion is banned at 20 weeks.
Lawmakers attempted to pass a trigger ban in April, but the vote fell two votes short, with Republican Sen. Robert Hilkemann and rural Democrat Sen. Lynn Walz not voting for the bill.
Sen. Lou Ann Linehan told 3 News Now she’s expecting to come back.
“The whole point of doing it in the regular session is so we wouldn’t have to come back. But we’ll be happy to come back,” said Linehan.
While the Legislature couldn’t pass a ban during its most recent session, Hunt says that just buys Nebraskans time to make a plan.
“I do think they'll probably have the votes to ban abortion in a special session of the Legislature, but I promise to make it the most excruciating, painful experience that my colleagues have ever had,” said Hunt.
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