Action Alert: Nebraska Heartbeat Act

Updated – March 17, 2023

We urgently need your help protecting babies with beating hearts! On March 16, Senator Merve Riepe filed a distressing amendment to LB626. We need all supporters to contact him and respectfully ask him to withdraw his amendment and fully support LB626 The Nebraska Heartbeat Act.

E-mail: mriepe@leg.ne.gov | Office phone number: 402-471-2623

On March 16, in an unexpected turn of events, Senator Merv Riepe of District 12, a co-sponsor of LB626 filed an amendment that would allow abortions up to 12 weeks of gestation and allow abortion of babies who are diagnosed with a fetal anomaly. This amendment would protect the lives of approximately 300 babies per year, compared to the Nebraska Heartbeat Act which was written to stop abortions once a heartbeat can be detected and would save more than 2,000 lives a year.

The Nebraska Heartbeat Act (LB626) would require an ultrasound be performed before an abortion to listen for a baby’s heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, an abortion may not be performed. It allows exceptions for rape, incest, or in the event of a medical emergency. Until Wednesday, we had exactly the 33 votes needed to pass LB 626, the life-saving Nebraska Heartbeat Act. Senator Joni Albrecht, sponsor of the bill, expressed surprise and disappointment by Senator Riepe’s amendment, saying the loss of his vote for cloture could put LB 626 at risk of falling to a filibuster from abortion rights advocates.

Lives are at stake, and we are urgently asking you to speak up. We believe Senator Riepe’s mind and heart can be changed by respectful and courteous, yet firm, correspondence.

Senator Merv Riepe, a former hospital executive, completed our 2022 Nebraska Right to Life Voter Guide stating he is in favor of protecting preborn babies from conception, with no exceptions. He also is on the Health and Human Services Committee and voted to advance LB626 from committee to the full Legislature after sitting through 7 full hours of of testimony for and against LB626. He has not confirmed that he would vote for LB626 if the amendment fails.

Please write or call Senator Riepe to respectfully share your concerns and ask him to withdraw the amendment and fully support LB626.

 

Updated – February 25, 2023

 

LB 626, the NEBRASKA HEARTBEAT ACT was recently voted out of the Health and Human Services Committee. This is a vital step in the legislative process that paves the way for the bill to be debated by the full legislature in the coming weeks. If LB 626 is passed, it will protect preborn babies with heartbeats from abortion. It will require an ultrasound to be performed before an abortion, and, if a fetal heartbeat is detected, no abortion may be performed. This bill was also designated as a priority bill! The Nebraska Legislature will begin floor debate on senators’ priority bills in the coming weeks.

 

 

Here’s how:

Type in your address 

When your Senator pops up, click “Landing Page”

Use their contact information to request their support for LB626