His two-word response to most questions from reporters was “no comment.” That’s despite working a state-record 16 years as the chief of staff for two governors, heading up State Capitol offices and agencies, and working under seven different governors - all over five decades of public service.īare’s style was low key but direct. That bill fell two votes short.LINCOLN - Larry Bare was likely the most powerful state official you’ve never heard of. Wade, which had guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide for nearly five decades. The close divide played heavily in the defeat last year of Albrecht’s so-called trigger bill that would have automatically banned nearly all abortions in the state as soon as the U.S. So a single lawmaker breaking from the party line could decide whether a bill advances or dies for the year. Although bills can advance with a simple majority, it takes a supermajority - 33 votes - to end debate to overcome a filibuster. Republicans hold 32 seats, while Democrats hold 17 seats. But each of its 49 lawmakers identifies as Republican or Democrat and tends to propose and vote for legislation along party lines. Nebraska has the only single-chamber, officially nonpartisan legislature in the United States. “It’s protecting babies with beating hearts from elective abortion.” “This bill is about one thing,” she said. She also rejected Riepe’s amendment, objecting to giving pregnant people 12 weeks to get an abortion because her 6-week proposal “was a big compromise” from the total abortion ban - which had no exceptions for rape or incest - she introduced and failed to get passed last year. “This is simply not necessary,” Albrecht said. Jen Day that would explicitly exempt women and medical professionals from criminal penalties associated with an abortion. But she rejected a compromise bill introduced by Omaha Sen. Joni Albrecht, rejected that argument, saying it “is the friendliest pro-life bill out there” to the medical community. “Doctors are not going to have an adequate opportunity to know what’s going on with this law,” Sen. Opponents seemed prepared to back Riepe’s amendment by the end of debate, but focused mostly on concerns about the bill, saying it was ambiguous and might make medical professionals subject to criminal penalties - in particular a 1977 state law that makes abortion performed outside of accepted medical procedures a felony. Instead, it would have subjected doctors who perform abortions in violation of the measure to professional discipline, which could include losing their medical licenses. It did not ascribe criminal penalties to either women who receive or doctors who perform abortions. It also allowed for the removal of a fetus that has died in the womb. The failed Nebraska bill included exceptions for cases of rape, incest and medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother and made specific exceptions for ectopic pregnancies and IVF procedures. “We must embrace the future of reproductive rights,” he said. He offered up his own election last year as an example, noting that in a four-person race, he emerged with about 45% of the vote in the May primary and was a whopping 27 points ahead of his nearest contender.īut after the Supreme Court’s decision in June striking down Roe, his margin of victory in the general election against that same challenger - a Democrat who made abortion rights central to her campaign - dropped to just under 5 percentage points. When he received pushback from fellow Republicans on the amendment, Riepe took to the mic to warn his conservative colleagues that they should heed signs that abortion will galvanize women to vote them out of office. Riepe, a former hospital administrator from Ralston, introduced an amendment Thursday that would have extended the proposed ban to 12 weeks and add to the bill’s list of exceptions any fetal anomalies deemed incompatible with life. He was a cosigner of the bill, but expressed concern earlier this year that a six-week ban might not give women enough time to even know they were pregnant. The bill failed to get the crucial 33rd vote when Sen. “It gives me hope that the direction we’ve been seeing - across the country - could turn around.” “This gives me hope for the future,” she said. Neal, like most in the crowd, expressed shock at the vote’s failure.
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