Nebraska lawmakers advance bill to vastly restrict abortion

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would ban abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which is generally around the sixth week of pregnancy and before most women even know they are pregnant.

Thirty-three lawmakers voted to end debate on the bill — just enough needed to set up an identical 33-16 vote to advance the bill. If just one other lawmaker had voted not to end debate, the bill would likely have been declared dead for the year. It must survive two more rounds of debate before the end of the 90-day session to pass.

The effort to pass the so-called heartbeat bill in the Republican-controlled state remains in question. An amendment floated by a Republican co-signer of the bill that would push the ban out to 12 weeks of pregnancy has yet to be considered. The amendment — and concerns expressed by at least one lawmaker who voted to advance the bill — could signal that a ban set very early in pregnancy may face pushback even from those who want further abortion restrictions.

Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner is also a co-sponsor of the bill, which includes exceptions for cases of rape, incest and medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother. But she said during debate Wednesday that concerns shared with her by a couple of Nebraska doctors have given her pause on the current bill. She’s concerned, she said, that it doesn’t make allowances for fetal anomalies.