Nebraska and South Carolina Both Fail to Pass Pro-Life Protections by One Vote

Republican Defections Sink Abortion Bans in Nebraska and South Carolina

Proposed abortion bans in two solid red states each failed by one vote this week, after being torpedoed by several Republicans who refused to vote for the pro-life measures.

Nebraska

• A six-week abortion ban could not reach the 33 votes it needed to get past a filibuster after a 32-15 vote in the state Senate and one Republican abstained from voting.
• Sen. Merv Riepe, who had attempted to change the bill to a 12-week ban, abstained from voting on the six-week ban, earning the condemnation of Republican Governor Jim Pillen.

South Carolina

• Three Republican women led a filibuster against a bill called the “Human Life Protection Act,” leading the vote to fail 22-21.
• Five women (three Republicans, a Democrat, and an Independent) led the charge against the abortion ban, which would ban abortion from conception, making it the third time the body has failed to increase protections for the unborn since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Republican Sen. Penry Gustafson said that the proposed bill had “no room for empathy, reality or graciousness” but that she was still “pro-life.”

Another Republican, Sen. Sandy Senn, accused the Republican men of “metaphorically” slapping the women in the chamber because of the bill and compared it to “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

After the failure of the bill, abortion is still legal in the state through 22 weeks, making it a popular destination for women who want abortions in nearby conservative states.

Earlier this month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Heartbeat Protection Act into law late Thursday night, which prohibits abortions in the state once an unborn child has a detectable heartbeat. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum also just signed a six-week abortion ban into law, with exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergency during that time.

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