Nebraska Supreme Court will hear lawsuit challenging measure to expand abortion rights

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has agreed to expedite a hearing on a lawsuit that could keep voters from deciding whether to expand abortion rights in the state.

The court has set a hearing for next Monday for arguments over the suit filed by the conservative Thomas More Society, according to court records. The secretary of state said last month that the measure had received enough signatures to appear on the November ballot.

The initiative would enshrine in the state constitution the right to have an abortion until viability, or later to protect the health of the pregnant woman. The lawsuit challenges the measure on technical grounds, arguing that it violates the state’s prohibition against addressing more than one subject. The measure deals with both abortion rights until viability, and abortion rights after viability to protect the woman’s health — two separate issues, the lawsuit argues.

Also slated to appear on the November ballot is a rival initiative that would codify Nebraska’s current 12-week ban on abortion in the constitution, with exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the pregnant woman.

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