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Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said Monday he would not convene the state legislature for a special session to consider tougher abortion laws because Republican lawmakers failed to get the votes to pass a ban on abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Mr. Ricketts, a Republican, said in June that after the US Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. It came up in the last few weeks as we worked on how far to limit the . The decision to legalize abortion nationwide.
On Friday Indiana became the first state to pass a new abortion ban since the overthrow of Law, but Republican lawmakers there voted on which exceptions to allow. was divided.
Nebraska now allows abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization. Ricketts said he supported a near-total ban on rape and incest without exception, and was interested in convening a special session to further restrict access to abortion.
But the governor said in a statement Monday that he has only 30 state senators who support a ban on abortions after 12 weeks. He needs 33 votes to pass the bill.
The Nebraska legislature is unicameral. So there is only one Congress, made up of 32 Republicans and 17 Democrats.
"It is very sad that he is the only 30 Nebraska senators willing to return to Lincoln this fall to save innocent lives. is," he said Ricketts. "As Governor, I will continue to do everything in my power to affirm the rights of prenatal babies and to assist pregnant women, children, and families in need."
Nebraska Senator Megan Hunt, a Democrat, tweeted last week that the 12-week ban proposal would appear "moderate" in comparison to the state's Republican leadership. I wrote that it was part of my efforts. To a total of bans enforced in about 10 other states.
"Abortion is a right. Abortion is health care. And decisions about if and when to become parents do not belong to the government," Hunt tweeted on Monday.
The near-total ban, signed by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday, would ban if the mother's life is in danger, if the fetus develops a fatal abnormality, or Prohibits all abortions unless the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest but has not progressed. More than 10 weeks pregnant.
The West Virginia legislature, also led by Republicans, is about to pass a bill that would almost completely ban abortion during a special session this summer. But lawmakers disagree on whether doctors who perform abortions should be jailed, with few exceptions.
Last week's rejection of a Republican-backed constitutional amendment in Kansas to limit abortion boosted Democrats' hopes they could harness voter anger to win the November midterm elections. became stronger.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter, Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Josie Kao)
