The governor of the US state of Nebraska, Republican Jim Pillen, signed a law on Monday that prohibits abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming medical care to those under 19 years of age.
Nebraska was one of the few states where abortion was still legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. However, the United States has been restricting access to this right in most states, and the Nebraska law was no exception.
Despite the first attempt that points to a criminalization of abortion up to six weeks of gestation, the document approved on Friday, in the state Congress, allows the legal interruption of pregnancy up to 12 weeks. After that period, the practice constitutes a crime, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and “medical emergencies.”
The law also prohibits gender-affirming surgery for anyone under the age of 19 and seeks to restrict hormone therapies and puberty blockers.
During the signing of the law, the governor stressed that gender reassignment is “Lucifer at his best.”
In a statement released on Friday, Pillen had stressed that the restrictions constitute an important “step” to protect minors in the state: “I congratulate the senators (…) who supported conservative values and common sense.”
Human rights organizations condemned the new law and warned that it will bring serious consequences for pregnant women and transgender minors in the state.
The president of Planned Parenthood, Alexis McGill, indicated in a statement that with this new regulation the people of Nebraska will be “forced to travel outside their state to access abortion or terminate a pregnancy against their will.”
Alexis McGill also emphasized that “young people who cannot access vital and gender-affirming healthcare may be forced to move with their families.”
A total of 19 US states have passed laws to ban or restrict gender-affirming treatment and care, according to data from the Human Rights Campaign.
Likewise, in 13 states of the country abortion was completely prohibited, while in 31 there are restrictions from different stages of pregnancy since the Supreme Court revoked the Roe v. Wade, according to Planned Parenthood.
Source: TSF
