Nebraska Supreme Court declines to fast-track lawsuit against pro-abortion amendment

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would not fast-track a lawsuit that seeks to remove a pro-abortion amendment to the state’s November ballot.

Carolyn LaGreca, the founder and board member of the Women’s Care Center, which serves and houses women facing unplanned pregnancies in Omaha, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the ballot initiative from moving forward. She also asked the state Supreme Court to skip steps and make a ruling before the ballot is certified.

“If this matter had been filed in district court after the Secretary of State’s decision on August 23, it would have been nearly impossible to conclude the matter, as well as the inevitable review by the Court, before the September 13 deadline,” the lawsuit states.

However, the court said the lawsuit did not meet requirements to be fast-tracked and was “not supported by an affidavit or positively verified application.”

LaGreca’s attorney, Thomas More Society’s Matthew Heffron, argued that there is no time to waste because the ballots must be finalized by September 13. He told the Nebraska Examiner that he has refiled the lawsuit with corrections.

“It was a clerical error,” Heffron said. “We had attached a verified petition to our application. The Court said we needed to verify the petition and application.”

Heffron said the Supreme Court will decide if it wants to take the case, which is separate from the formal complaint filed on Monday by a group of doctors and medical professionals attempting to block the amendment. They argue the language used in the amendment redefines fetal viability and gives abortionists the ability to decide when and what constitutes viability. At the heart of LaGreca’s lawsuit is the same argument — that the pro-abortion amendment will codify abortion beyond fetal viability.

Like the complaint from medical professionals, LaGreca’s lawsuit also argues that the pro-abortion ballot measure combines more than one subject, which is unconstitutional. Two similar complaints arguing this have been filed by a former abortion worker and a legislative candidate.

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