Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says he won’t stop on abortion, seeks total ban

HOLDREGE, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — Gov. Jim Pillen and conservative state lawmakers are “going to end” abortion in Nebraska, and their push will not stop with bans at 12 or six weeks, he said during a recent barnstorming stop in this agricultural community.

Many in the group of more than 80 people at the Sun Theatre for one of Pillen’s town halls cheered Wednesday when he repeated the stance he campaigned on: He wants to ban abortion at conception. Abortion-rights advocates have pledged to fight such a goal.

Riepe roadblock

Without naming him, Pillen criticized State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston for withholding the pivotal 33rd vote for cloture that would have let Legislative Bill 626 pass during this year’s legislative session. That bill would have banned abortions after an ultrasound detects embryonic cardiac activity, typically after about 6 weeks.

Pillen said he “thought we had the heartbeat bill” but “got nicked by one person caving in to pressure.” So Pillen and others seeking restrictions pressed to combine an abortion ban at 12 weeks gestational age with Legislative Bill 574. That bill originally aimed to outlaw some gender-related health care for young people.

Nebraska law previously allowed abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization, or about 22 weeks gestational age.

“We didn’t give up,” he said. “We were able to combine them and get it at the last hour to get it down to 12 weeks. I can assure you as long as I’m the governor, that’s unacceptable. I pushed hard to get us to 12, but we’re going to end abortion.”

Pillen described Nebraska as “a pro-life state.” 

Told of the governor’s comments, Andi Curry Grubb of Planned Parenthood of Nebraska said she was “not surprised.” Most Nebraskans do not want additional restrictions, she said. 

“We’ve known all along, even before the Dobbs decision, that this was the goal,” she said, referring to the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling a year ago by the U.S. Supreme Court that there is no constitutional right to abortion. “And they continue to lie during debate and during hearings and in interviews and say that’s not the goal, but this … is not going to stop at 574.”

Pillen says critics wrong about LB 574

The governor also defended LB 574 from critics of its limits on gender-affirming care and people who say the law discriminates against LGBTQ minors. He said he was “really proud” to work with state senators to “make sure we don’t have transgender laws across the land.”

“The answer is love and life,” he said. “If somebody decides to be a transgender at 19 years of age, I’ll love them like any other Nebraskan. But we’re going to protect our kids until they’re old enough to make those decisions on their own.”

When asked whether he thinks the combination of abortion and transgender care in LB 574 can withstand legal scrutiny, Pillen said that he had talked to Attorney General Mike Hilgers and thinks it can.

“We’re going to fight like heck, and we’re going to win,” Pillen said. “We’ve worked really, really hard with the legislation. … And just so you know, the 12-week-old life bill, that’s rock solid.”

Guns, opportunity scholarships, taxes 

One man asked Pillen how he squared his Christian faith with signing a bill into law that would lead to more gun-related deaths. Legislative Bill 77 lets Nebraskans to carry concealed handguns without a permit or state-mandated gun safety training.

“I’m a believer that where there’s guns there’s not violence, so that’s why I signed it,” Pillen said. “The hardcore reality is, it doesn’t matter … bad people are going to have guns…. So we need the constitutional freedom to protect ourselves.”

Pillen also discussed passing a tax relief package that includes new state investments in a baseline level of state aid to schools for every K-12 district and 80% state and federal funding of special education costs.

He got nods and applause when he discussed his push to have the state fund community colleges and get them off local property tax rolls. He also defended tax credits for donors paying for private school education for low-income children.

“Opportunity scholarship funds — there might be folks in this room that said that is pure hogwash, but I’ll debate you until I take my last breath,” he said. “We need both private schools and public schools, because we need the right fit for our kids.”

Opponents of the opportunity scholarship bill have begun a ballot initiative to repeal the new tax credit. They argue the law will eventually siphon funding needed for public schools. 

Two more seats for total ban

Pillen said conservatives need to win two additional legislative seats in order to end abortion in Nebraska. He said he is working on a plan with conservative donors around the state to invest more campaign money in legislative races to grow the Republican majority.

He said Republicans should hold 39 of 49 Unicameral seats based on the GOP edge in voter registrations. Today, Republicans hold 32 seats, while Democrats and nonpartisans hold 17.

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