Nebraska

Nebraska Sued Over Law Restricting Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care

Published

2 years ago

May 31, 2023

Nebraska Sued Over Law Restricting Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care

A Planned Parenthood affiliate and a Nebraska doctor have sued the state over its recently enacted law banning most abortions after 12 weeks as well as banning some gender-affirming procedures for transgender youth.

Legislative Bill 574 was signed into law by Republican Gov. Jim Pillen last week. The abortion ban went into effect immediately, and the restrictions on gender-affirming care will be in force October 1. The legislation bans gender-affirming surgery for people under 19 for the purpose of gender transition — genital surgery being rare for young people anyway — and gives the state’s chief medical officer, appointed by the governor, the power to regulate use of puberty blockers and hormones.

The measure violates the Nebraska constitution because it deals with two different subjects, according to the lawsuit, filed by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and Sarah Traxler, MD, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood North Central States. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and its Nebraska affiliate.

The constitution states, “No bill shall contain more than one subject, and the subject shall be clearly expressed in the title.” But in the case of LB 574, the abortion ban was added as an amendment to the gender-affirming care restrictions when separate abortion legislation failed to pass.

“The single-subject rule prevents logrolling, namely, the passage of legislation that, if standing alone, could not muster the necessary votes for enactment,” the suit says. It continues, “The single-subject rule also promotes transparency in the legislative process and accountability by lawmakers. When a bill contains one subject, no senator can credibly claim that a vote for (or against) that bill was meant to support (or oppose) only part of it. When a bill contains more than one subject, it is impossible to know whether the lawmaker’s vote signaled support for (or opposition to) the entire bill, or just some of it.”

The suit was filed Tuesday in Lancaster County District Court, a state-level trial court in the county that includes Lincoln, the state capital. Pillen is named as a defendant, along with Dannette Smith, chief executive officer of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services; Charity Menefee, director of the DHHS’s Division of Public Health; and Timothy Tesmer, the chief medical officer. It seeks both to have the law struck down and to have it blocked from enforcement while the suit is pending.

In the suit and in a press conference Tuesday, representatives of Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and Nebraska Abortion Resources called the law egregious overreach by politicians. They said Nebraskans are already having difficulty with access to abortion, given that there is a national shortage in rural areas of doctors who provide this care. Patients often have to wait several weeks for an appointment, and Nebraskans are now often traveling to neighboring states such as Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois for the procedure. But many can’t afford the travel cost, time off work, or child care they would need while away from home.

“I’m appalled that this is where we are today,” Traxler said in the press conference.

On gender-affirming care, legislators and activists who opposed LB 574 had said any regulations Tesmer issues on hormones and puberty blockers will likely be as restrictive as the outright ban originally proposed in the bill but ultimately dropped. ACLU of Nebraska attorney Jane Seu said Tuesday that’s not possible to know for sure until the regulations come out. But Tesmer was appointed by Pillen and has said he opposes all gender-affirming procedures for minors.

LB 574 passed when supporters in Nebraska’s one-chamber, officially nonpartisan legislature put together enough votes to overcome a filibuster. Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh had filibustered every pending bill in an effort to block the gender-affirming care ban, and she was eventually joined by others, including Sen. Megan Hunt, a bisexual woman with a transgender son, and Sen. John Fredrickson, a gay man.

Pillen, contacted by local media, declined comment on the suit. The Nebraska Republican Party contended that the ACLU had not brought action against other legislation that violated the single-subject rule.

Pictured: Planned Parenthood marches in the Heartland Pride Parade in Omaha.

Source link

Click to comment

Nebraska

Georgia Transfer Defensive Back Justyn Rhett Commits to Nebraska

Published

7 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Georgia Transfer Defensive Back Justyn Rhett Commits to Nebraska

An SEC defensive back is headed to Lincoln via the transfer portal.

Former Georgia DB Justyn Rhett has committed to Nebraska. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Rhett appeared in four games over two seasons for the powerhouse Bulldogs. He finishes his Georgia career with three tackles.

The 6-1, 200-pound DB got to Athens from the football factory out of Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman. A four-star prospect out of high school, Rhett was selected to play in Under Armour All-America Game and picked Georgia over Alabama, Michigan, Florida State, LSU, Tennessee, Oregon, Notre Dame, Oregon, and more.

MORE: Nebraska Women’s Basketball Falls at No. 17 Georgia Tech

MORE: Dave Feit’s Historical College Football Playoffs: The Post-Osborne Nebraska Teams

MORE: Purdue Transfer Quarterback Marcos Davila Commits to Nebraska

MORE: Carriker Chronicles: Nebraska Big Day; Coaching Staff Is Better

MORE: Despite Final Four Loss, Nebraska Volleyball Has Plenty to Be Proud Of This Season

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

Source link

Nebraska

900 Square Feet: Recapping Louisville-Pitt, Penn State-Nebraska

Published

15 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

900 Square Feet: Recapping Louisville-Pitt, Penn State-Nebraska

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — One match left: Louisville, which knocked out Pittsburgh, plays Penn State, which ousted Nebraska with a five-set reverse sweep.

ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst Emily Ehman and VolleyballMag editor Lee Feinswog look back on an incredible Thursday night at the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship:

Source link

Nebraska

Dana Holgorsen, John Butler talk bowl prep and being “light on your feet”

Published

23 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Dana Holgorsen, John Butler talk bowl prep and being “light on your feet”

In today’s college football, coaches must have their head on a swivel.

That’s true during the season of course, but it’s now a way of life once the transfer portal opens in December and rosters start moving and shaking. And things get even more wild if you’re at a program that’s playing in a bowl game, or even the College Football Playoff.

It’s a balancing act that all staffs are going through right now. Nebraska’s included.

“You’ve got to be light on your feet, man,” Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler said during a press conference over Zoom on Thursday. “I mean, you’re maybe in the middle of a game-plan meeting and all of a sudden you got to jump out and you’re having a 30-minute meeting with a prospect that’s in on a visit, or you’re jumping on a Zoom doing it. Or you’re watching 15 minutes of tape to make sure that, hey, this guy just jumped in and he wants to visit us. So I think you got to be a fast thinker and mover and a shaker, quite frankly.”

This whole process has taught Butler, who spent the 2024 season as the defensive backs coach under now-departed DC Tony White, that these traits are as important as ever: Being decisive. Being organized. Following a road map to achieve a goal and not deviating from it when there’s chaos all over.

“You’ve got to have a plan and a vision for what you’re looking for, because everything happens so fast,” Butler said. “You have a guy get in and get out, get in and get signed. And at the same time, you also got to keep an eye on your roster constantly, because there’s people reaching out. There’s people reaching out to your players, whether it’s direct or it’s people reaching out through a third party. And it’s unfortunate in this environment.

“People said, ‘Hey, it’s like NFL free agency.’ No, it’s not. NFL free agency is regulated.”

As Husker fans have come to learn, just because a player says he’s going to enter the transfer portal doesn’t mean he actually will. And sometimes when a player actually enters his name in the portal, there’s always a chance they could withdraw their name and return to their program if each side wants.

Nebraska saw that happen with defensive lineman Keona Davis, who briefly entered the portal before withdrawing and staying at NU for 2025. There was also running back Emmett Johnson — he announced he would enter the portal but never made it there.

Holgorsen played a key role in convincing Johnson to stay at Nebraska.

“We had some long talks after the season, and I got to know him better as a person,” Holgorsen said of his relationship with Johnson. “I did that with a bunch of them, but him in particular was probably about the first one that came in and was excited about what we did, but there was some buts. So we had some long talks. I think he’s a great kid and he’s going to be a special player here. Excited to coach him.”

On Holgorsen’s side of the ball, he’ll have to adjust his game plan now that he’ll be without a handful of players he was able to use during the regular season.

Running back Dante Dowdell transferred to Kentucky on Friday. A tight end Holgorsen really liked, Nate Boerkircher, transferred to Texas A&M. Receiver Isaiah Neyor has chosen to opt out of the Pinstripe Bowl to focus on his NFL aspirations. Offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua, who began the year as the starting right guard but finished the season rotating with Gunnar Gottula at left tackle, won’t play in the bowl because he’s getting surgery to fix a torn labrum he played through during the season.

There will be holes to fill on Holgorsen’s offense in the bowl game and beyond in 2025. But Holgorsen brushes all of this chaos off. He’s a go-with-the-flow guy. He doesn’t pretend to have answers to fix college football. What he does have, though, is a plan.

“There’s been a lot of talk out there about something needs to happen. That’s above my pay grade,” Holgorsen said. “So, the few kids who decided to do that (leave), we wish them well, and you just go replace them. It’s as simple as that.”

Part of that replacement process needs to happen for the bowl game with current members of the roster. Behind Emmett Johnson, expect Rahmir Johnson — he’s native of the Bronx and will have several family members and friends at Yankee Stadium — to play often as it’ll be his final game in a Husker uniform.

But with Dowdell and Gabe Ervin Jr. gone from the team, perhaps this Pinstripe Bowl will feature another big back on Nebraska’s roster who’s seldom been used: redshirt freshman Kwinten Ives, a 6-3, 210-pounder.

“You know, 23 (Dowdell) isn’t playing in the bowl game but 28 (Ives) is gonna go in there and he’s gonna play his tail off because he’s had nine spectacular practices,” Holgorsen said. “I think that’s how you got to look at it. You don’t worry about the ones that aren’t playing. You worry about the ones that are playing, and you coach them and you try to develop them, put them in position to hopefully be successful.”