Nebraska Department of Health clarifies state’s abortion law due to misleading ads

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued an alert this week noting that several ads regarding the upcoming pro-abortion ballot measure contain incorrect and misleading information about the state’s abortion law.

In the advisory, Chief Medical Officer Timothy Tesmer clarified that the state’s Preborn Child Protection Act, which protects some preborn children from abortion, does include a number of exceptions and allows the abortion of preborn children less than 12 weeks. He also clarified that necessary health care for miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion, and there are no restrictions on providing this care to women.

“The Department of Health and Human Services has received several inquiries, from physicians and health care providers, expressing concern regarding recent radio and television ads that included incorrect and misleading information regarding the Preborn Child Protection Act,” the notice states.

The health department’s advisory followed a news conference last week by Gov. Jim Pillen, who also clarified that receiving care for a miscarriage is always allowed.

“To be clear, crystal clear under current law, a woman in Nebraska can obtain care for a miscarriage throughout her entire pregnancy,” Pillen said. “I do not want to risk medical professionals or health care institutions refusing women care that they have been misinformed.”

Though no specific misleading ads were mentioned, one ad from the Protect Our Rights campaign, which is advocating for Initiative 439 which would make abortion a constitutional ‘right,’ featured a pregnant woman who said she couldn’t abort her child even though she was bleeding and about to have a miscarriage.

Nationwide, abortion advocates have persistently spread the lie that state abortion restrictions will impact miscarriage care — a lie debunked by Live Action News here.

Nebraska voters on Tuesday will see two ballot measures related to abortion — Initiative 439, which would enshrine abortion as a constitutional right, and Initiative 434, which would keep the state’s current abortion restrictions in place, protecting those in the second and third trimesters from abortion.

According to Liberty Counsel, the one that receives the most “for” votes and has the support of at least 35 percent of voters is the one that will be ratified.

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