2023 Media Releases
Outcome of LB 626 – Nebraska Heartbeat Act
Governor Pillen Signs 12 Week Abortion Restrictions into Law
Nebraska Right to Life Rescinds Endorsement of Senator Merv Riepe
2022 Media Release
TO: All Media
FOR RELEASE: Immediate
CONTACT: Sandy Danek, Executive Director
Phone: 402-438-4802
DATE: Monday, August 8, 2022
RE: Nebraska Legislature Special Session
Nebraska Right to Life stands by the decision of Governor Pete Ricketts to take up the issue of abortion and the protection of women and their children in the upcoming January 2023 Unicameral session. We stand committed to protect the lives of children, and will continue to do so in the next legislative session. “Nebraska pro-lifers are disappointed in Senator John Stinner (Dist. #48) and Senator Robert Hilkemann (Dist #4) who voted in favor of LB933 during the 2022 Legislative Session, a bill which would have banned abortion in Nebraska and have now indicated they will not maintain their pro-life commitment to more restrictive measures on abortion during a special session,” said Sandy Danek, Executive Director of Nebraska Right to Life. “We believe that a stand for the protection of life should be unequivocal – not something to be negotiated for political reasons,” she said.
Nebraska has an incredible history of pro-life leadership. In 2010, Nebraska was the first state in the nation to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, that not only saved preborn babies’ lives at 20 weeks but emboldened states throughout the nation to pass this life-saving legislation. “The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade allows our state the opportunity to extend even further protections of the law to the most vulnerable among us,” Danek remarked.
Nebraska Right to Life Political Action Committee (NRL PAC) is proud to have supported a record number of pro-life candidates. The compassion, energy, and commitment these candidates have shown to women and their children is inspiring. An NRL PAC endorsement sends a message to pro-life Nebraska that a candidate believes in the dignity of all human life. “Our supporters rely on the endorsement process when deciding on a pro-life candidate. When lawmakers are held accountable to their principles to uphold that value of life – life wins,” Danek said.
“The November 2022 mid-term elections will see thousands of Nebraska voters supporting those candidates who will work to defend life and uphold a fuller understanding of justice. We stand ready to work with all legislators to advance the best pro-life legislation in America,” Danek said. Thousands of NRL PAC voter guides will be distributed across the state indicating the candidates who have received a pro-life endorsement.
U.S. abortion policy is far more permissive even than the policies of most European countries. Thirty-nine of the forty-two European countries that allow elective abortion permit it only in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
• Only seven countries, including China and North Korea, permit elective abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Our commitment to life goes beyond political action. For almost 50 years, the pro-life movement in Nebraska has supported women and their children by supporting more than 25 pregnancy help centers throughout the state. These centers join approximately 3,000 centers across the nation which have provided $266 million in free services annually, such as free ultrasounds, diapers, formula, baby supplies, parenting classes, and emotional and spiritual support.
Nebraska Right to Life will continue to cherish every baby and the intrinsic value of each baby while working to not only make abortion illegal but unthinkable. We are committed to supporting the journey of life by caring for her, before birth, at birth, and after birth.
Science continues to show us the amazing progress of fetal development.
• By 21 days a baby’s heart begins to beat and the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system are laid.
• By 8 weeks, she has every organ present.
• At 10 weeks fingernails begin to develop and by 12 weeks she can swallow and make facial expressions, and even smile.
• 85% of abortions in Nebraska are performed within these first 12 weeks.
“The abortion industry does not recognize protection for a child at this stage [12 weeks] and even beyond, supporting full-term, taxpayer-funded abortion on demand with no parental involvement, which flies in the face of the values of Nebraskans,” Danek said.
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To: All Media Sources
From: Sandy Danek, Executive Director
Date: Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Re: Supreme Court Leak on Roe v. Wade
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case in December of last year. This case centers on Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act that bans abortion after 15 weeks. It has been said to be the catalyst to possibly overturning Roe v. Wade, which forces states to allow abortion up to the so-called age of viability, which is about 24 weeks.
Last evening, Politico reported it acquired a copy of the initial draft of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson indicating a reversal of Roe v. Wade. “No matter where you stand on this issue, this unprecedented breach of the court’s confidentiality is disturbing,” said Sandy Danek, executive director. “We need to proceed with caution and wait for the Supreme Court to speak for itself, giving the official opinion when the final draft is complete.”
A decision to overturn Roe v. Wade returns the abortion issue to the duly elected representatives in state legislatures. “Elections matter. It’s why we work so hard to elect pro-life officials. Returning this decision back to the states allows for the people to decide, which is where it should have always been,” Danek said.
For almost 50 years, Roe v Wade has been a divisive issue in the United States. This possible decision shows the value of electing pro-life representatives that confirm justices who interpret the Constitution, and allows for protection of all human life, born and preborn.
“Ultimately, this is about protecting women and their children. A mother should not have to feel pitted against her own child when in an unplanned pregnancy. She should receive support and life-affirming options,” Danek said.
In Nebraska, there are eight times more pregnancy help centers than abortion facilities. These centers provide ultrasounds, teach parenting classes, coordinate adoption plans, provide material assistance and support for a woman in need so she doesn’t feel trapped into having an abortion –and it is all provided free of charge.
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TO: All Media Sources
FROM: Sandy Danek, Executive Director
DATE: Wednesday, April 6, 2022
RE: LB933
The Nebraska Legislature spent much of the day on Wednesday debating LB933, the Nebraska Human Life Protection Act. Opponents of the bill organized an expected filibuster until a cloture vote fell two votes short of passing the historic legislation with a vote of 31 to 15.
LB933, referred to as a “trigger ban,” would only go into effect once the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision, which is expected sometime in late June or early July. The reversal of this 1973 decision would not immediately outlaw abortion but would return abortion policy and laws to the governance of state legislatures.
“When Roe v. Wade was decided, medical technology did not exist as it does today,” said Sandy Danek, Executive Director. “We now have a window into the womb that allows us to see the humanity of the child with a heart that begins to beat at about 6 weeks gestation,” she added.
The pro-life movement provides pregnancy help centers throughout the state. These centers, operating with private donor support, offer life-affirming alternatives to abortion by providing free ultrasounds, coordinating adoption options, parenting classes, material assistance and more.
“We believe that a mother and her child are worthy of love and support,” said Danek. We will continue our work with education, legislative efforts and political action until every life is protected and honored in our state.”
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TO: All Media Sources
FROM: Sandy Danek, Executive Director – 402-890-0936
DATE: Wednesday, December 1, 2021
RE: Supreme Court Case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health
Today, the United States Supreme Court hears Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a case that centers around the 2018 Mississippi law which provides protection to unborn babies by banning elective abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The case could overturn Roe v. Wade and restore legal protection to unborn babies.
“Under the current structure of Roe v. Wade and with the 1992 Supreme Court decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, states are prohibited from protecting a child in the womb before viability, about 22 weeks of pregnancy,” executive director, Sandy Danek said.
“The Court will consider whether all pre-viable restrictions on election abortions are unconstitutional. This is historic,” Danek said.
The fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has taken this case indicates their decision will, in some way, directly impact Roe v. Wade. If this happens, states will then be able to determine the legal status of abortion or at least implement restrictions pre-viability.
Danek stated, “Medical advances have revealed the humanity of the child in the womb, that at 15 weeks, she has had a beating heart for several weeks, the circulatory and nervous systems have been in place and brain waves are detectable. By 11-12 weeks, a baby at this stage will have every organ in place necessary, revealing a unique and living human being.”
Polls consistently show that Americans oppose abortion in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters and are supportive of common-sense laws restricting abortion, even at the earliest stages of life.
Abortion laws in the United States are more liberal than in all of Europe. The U.S. is one of only seven countries in the world that allow elective abortion after 20 weeks, comparable to countries such as North Korea and China.
A ruling from the Supreme Court is expected in the summer of 2022.