DOUBLE WHAMMY

Nebraska Guv Signs Bill Banning 12-Week Abortions, Trans Youth Care

“It’s about protecting our kids and saving babies. Pure and simple,” Gov. Jeff Pillen said at a signing ceremony.

Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Jim Pillen signed legislation on Monday that bans most abortions after 12 weeks and restricts transgender youth’s access to gender-affirming healthcare. The abortion ban, which provides exceptions for sexual assault, incest, and undefined “medical emergencies,” takes effect immediately. The medical care restriction, which applies to all patients under 19 years old, will take effect Oct. 1. Surrounded by his family and 25 state senators at a signing ceremony, Pillen called it “the most significant win for social conservative agenda in over a generation of Nebraska.” He added, “It’s about protecting our kids and saving babies. Pure and simple.” The bill will shrink the state’s previous abortion ban of 20 weeks, a window that was the smallest in the nation when it was passed in 2010. Earlier this year, legislators attempted to ram through an even stricter bill that would have banned abortions at six weeks of pregnancy. That bill failed by a single vote, according to the Omaha World-Herald.