+++Action/Photo Avail Note: Press can attend an action “Block the Ban at the Ballot Box” hosted by the Democratic Party today from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at 1409 Old Farm Road, Lincoln, NE 68512. Leaders will be on site for interviews. We will hold a similar action on Monday, June 27 in Omaha.
+++
Nebraska Democrats assailed the wrong-headed U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday to overturn on longstanding precedent guaranteeing women’s right to abortions in the Roe v Wade case. When Gov. Ricketts calls a Special Session, our Democratic Party is prepared to organize and support bi-partisan Senators who blocked a ban on abortion.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb:
“The majority of Nebraskans believe abortion must remain legal and that women must have the right to make their own health decisions,” Kleeb said. “Republicans from Don Bacon, to Mike Flood, Adrian Smith and Jim Pillen are putting women’s lives at-risk for their callous political agenda. We can block the ban at the ballot box by voting for our strong Democratic candidates.”
Said Sen.Tony Vargas, candidate for the CD2 seat in Congress:
“Politicians don’t belong in doctor’s offices making medical decisions. Women should make the decisions that are the best for them with their doctors. Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court is a clear threat to Americans’ health, safety, and rights. Governor Ricketts has promised to call the Legislature back into a special session, and when he does I’m ready to keep fighting for Nebraska women and families, alongside Planned Parenthood Action, to ensure their access to reproductive healthcare is protected. And in Congress, just as I have in the Nebraska Legislature, I’ll continue fighting to keep the heavy hand of government out of these important and deeply personal decisions.”
Said Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, candidate for the CD1 seat in Congress:
“Today the U.S. Supreme Court made an unconscionable decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, giving the government the seat at our daughters’ exam tables for which many have long coveted. A majority of Americans and Nebraskans do not agree that abortion should be illegal. Tuesday’s special election will be our first opportunity to stand up and fight back at the ballot box against this extreme effort to push us back into the Dark Ages. My opponent doesn’t even support exceptions for rape or incest. The contrast and stakes are clear.”
Said Sen. Carol Blood, candidate for governor:
“Reproductive justice is on the minds of many women here in Nebraska today. The trigger bill that will ultimately follow will cause Nebraskans to live in a police state. We will become a police state where doctors will live in fear when they need to provide necessary patient care. It will endanger the jobs of medical specialists who may be trying to protect a woman’s health, disallow women from making decisions on IVF with their doctors never allowing them to experience parenthood, mandate what types of birth control a woman may use instead of allowing the woman and her doctor to make that decision. It will negatively affect our medical students here in Nebraska seeking training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, causing many to not want to train in Nebraska or prevent them from receiving certain certifications to allow for health procedures such as a D&C, often needed after a miscarriage. It’s terrifying that we are choosing to not protect the victims of sexual assault, especially our children. I can’t comprehend the expectation that a child traumatized by incest will be forced to carry a pregnancy conceived from abuse and then be forced to deal with adult decisions such as potential genetic mutations. This seems heartless and wrong. Why do we have elected officials and candidates wanting to further this trauma? I have grave concerns about the collateral damage we will be creating with these types of decisions that should be between a patient and healthcare provider, a woman and her partner or husband, or a family and their minister or priest.”
