'Abandonment of duty': Nebraska HHS allegedly lets abortion clinics break laws

During a public hearing of the Nebraska Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, a state senator accused the state's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of being "totally ineffective" in its oversight of the state's abortion businesses.

Key Takeaways:

• Nebraska State Sen. Rick Holdcroft and several witnesses testified that the two Nebraska abortion facilities currently operating are doing so in violation of several laws.

• They claim that CARE Reproductive Health (a late-term abortion facility) and Planned Parenthood are using out-of-state abortionists who do not have proper Nebraska licensing. They also claim Planned Parenthood is in violation of several health and safety laws.

• Holdcroft accuses DHHS of failing to oversee the abortion businesses and faiing to fully investigate allegations against them, despite available evidence.

The Details:

During the hearing, state Sen. Rick Holdcroft spoke out against DHHS's handling of the state's two abortion facilities in light of Legislative Resolution 238, which examined the quality of services at Nebraska abortion businesses and the state's oversight of those businesses. Earlier this year, he also introduced Legislative Bill 512, which aims to increase the requirements for individuals buying the abortion pill.

Holdcroft and those he brought in to testify said that CARE Reproductive Health abortion facility in Bellevue along with the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in the state use abortionists who are not properly licensed to work in Nebraska.

They also accused Planned Parenthood of failing to meet hygienic standards, noting moldy ceilings, old carpeting stained with blood, and a sewage leak from a clogged toilet that spread into patient areas (including the abortion recovery room) for two days. Patients vomited from the smell.

“There was a gross dereliction of duty by the organization to care for its facilities, patients and employees,” Mariah Arabalo, a former Planned Parenthood employee who currently works for State Sen. Rita Sanders, testified.

In addition, Holdcroft claimed that the facilities are violating a Nebraska law that requires an abortionist to be available to a patient for at least 48 hours "for postoperative care." He says the abortionists travel from out of state to commit the abortions and then leave. (This "circuit riding" among abortionists has always been common, even before Roe's reversal.)

“If you’re sending a woman home with the intention that she’s going to have a miscarriage in her bathroom in the next 48-72 hours … you need to give her a phone number that she can call for help,” Holdcroft said. 

"Stunning pattern of inaction"

Attorney Matt Heffron of the Thomas More Society also testified, stating he has witnessed "a stunning pattern of inaction" by DHHS in response to evidence of violations at the abortion facilities and complaints about the facilities. He had previously filed a 21-page complaint to DHHS in May 2024, detailing the alleged evidence of illegal practices.

"DHHS was handed detailed violations complete with dates, witnesses, and documentary proof and yet it has done virtually nothing to investigate or solve these serious problems," said Heffron. "In one instance, the agency documented 229 separate violations of state law in just three months and then closed the investigation three days later without penalties. That's not enforcement. That's abandonment of duty."

Rather than investigate fully, DHHS allegedly accepted "Statements of Compliance" from the facility, even after repeated violations.

Heffron testified that legislators should enact reforms to ensure DHHS is held accountable.

“This is not a question of insufficient law. It’s a question of insufficient enforcement,” he said. “DHHS has the evidence and the authority but apparently lacks the will. Nebraskans should not have to accept a two-tiered system of justice where abortion clinics are effectively exempt from the laws.”

Go Deeper:

Read more about Nebraska and Planned Parenthood at these links:

• Nebraska Legislative Resolution 238

• Nebraska Legislative Bill 512

• The 21 page report from Thomas More Society

• The letter to DHHS from Thomas More Society

• Thomas More Society Press Release

• Botched Care and Tired Staff: Planned Parenthood in Crisis

• 6 key facts about the revealing New York Times exposé on Planned Parenthood’s ‘crisis’