Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds Bans On Abortion, Transgender Surgeries For Minors

 The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a ban on both transgender medical procedures for minors and abortion on Friday.

The law bans abortions after 12 weeks, as well as transgender surgeries and puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for individuals younger than 18.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which works in Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois, filed the lawsuit against the law, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The abortion provider argued that the law violated the state constitution because it dealt with more than one issue. The state countered that both transgender medical interventions and abortion fall under healthcare.

“Ultimately, ‘if a bill has but one general object, no matter how broad that object may be, and contains no matter not germane thereto, and the title fairly expresses the subject of the bill, it does not violate’” the state constitution, Chief Justice Mike Heavican wrote for the court.

Pro-life advocates immediately hailed the court’s decision.

“This decision is a victory for Nebraska’s unborn children and their mothers who will continue to be protected from second- and third-trimester abortions,” said SBA Pro-Life America’s western regional director Adam Schwend, noting that Nebraska saw a “massive drop” in late-term abortions last year thanks to the law.

Last year, abortions in Nebraska decreased nearly 9% from 2022, even with women from Iowa coming in for abortions after Iowa passed a six-week ban.

“We must continue to guard this protection that prevents abortions of babies who can feel pain and stand firm against the abortion industry’s attempts to roll back the progress we have made in the greatest human rights struggle of our time,” Schwend said.

Meanwhile, critics have raised the alarm over transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for gender dysphoric children over the last several years. In Europe, several countries have pumped the brakes on these procedures.

Transgender surgeries are not reversible, and both puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones come with serious health risks. Puberty blockers can affect bone growth and density and cause sexual dysfunction, voice damage, and infertility, among other issues. Cross-sex hormones can cause infertility, deadly blood clots, heart attacks, increased cancer risks of the breasts and ovaries, liver dysfunction, worsening psychological illness, and other serious conditions.

Nebraska joins a number of other states with Republican-controlled legislatures that have banned abortion or transgender medical interventions for minors, or both.

At least 25 states have passed restrictions on transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors, but the bans are blocked in court in Florida, Ohio, and Montana. Several other states have lawsuits proceeding as well, although the bans remain in effect for now.

At least 24 states have passed bans on abortion, although the bans are tied up in court in Montana, Wyoming, and Iowa.