Nebraska lawmakers reject six-week abortion ban

A six-week abortion ban failed in the Nebraska legislature on Thursday after falling one vote short of breaking a filibuster.

The bill, which sought to ban abortion after cardiac activity is detected around six weeks of pregnancy, lost a crucial vote in favor when Republican state Sen. Merv Riepe abstained.

Riepe, who had previously supported the bill, surprised his colleagues last month by announcing he planned to introduce an amendment to extend abortion access through 12 weeks of pregnancy. 

He previously told Nebraska’s Flatwater Free Press that he was worried that the six-week law would be perceived as a “total ban.”

“At the end of the day, I need to look back and be able to say to myself, ‘Did you do the best?’” Riepe said. “No group came to me, asking me to do this. This is of my own beliefs, my own commitments.”

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) said in a statement that he was “profoundly disappointed” by Thursday’s vote, taking particular aim at Riepe’s abstention.

“It is unacceptable for senators to be present not voting on such a momentous vote,” Pillen said. “I call on Senator Merv Riepe to make a motion to reconsider and stand by the commitments to Life he has made in the past.”

A near-total ban on abortion also failed in the South Carolina Senate on Thursday after the chamber’s five female lawmakers filibustered the legislation that sought to bar abortion from conception.