OMAHA, Neb. -- Nebraska will have a record number of petition-initiated measures on the ballot Tuesday, including two competing ones that address abortion rights. Nebraska is the first state to feature competing abortion amendments on the same ballot since the U.
S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending the nationwide right to abortion and allowing states to decide for themselves.
Initiative 434, which appears at the top of the ballot list, would enshrine in the state constitution Nebraska’s current 12-week abortion ban, which the Legislature passed in 2023 and which includes exceptions for cases of rape and incest and to protect the life of the pregnant woman. Appearing last on the list is Initiative 439, which would amend the constitution to guarantee the right to have an abortion until viability — the standard under Roe that is the point at which a fetus might survive outside the womb. Some babies can survive with medical help after 21 weeks of gestation.
The measure includes some exceptions, including allowing abortions later in pregnancy to protect the health of the pregnant woman. Because they’re competing and therefore cannot both be enshrined in the constitution, the one that gets the most “for” votes would be adopted, the secretary of state’s office said. Elections officials expect the competing measures to help drive high voter turnout, along with the hotly contested presidential race.
Abortion is on the ballot in several other states, as w.
