by Bishop James Conley
First of all, from the bottom of my heart, I wish to thank you for your fervent prayers, fasting and sacrifices offered last week for the Nebraska Heartbeat Act (LB626). Even though, tragically, we failed to overcome a second-round filibuster and fell just one vote short of advancing the bill, God has not abandoned us. He will honor our prayers and hard work on behalf of Nebraska mothers and their babies. This is no time to be discouraged or be tempted to despair. Our hope is not in powers and principalities. Our hope is in the Lord.
The good news is the fact that 32 Nebraska senators stood up as bold and shining witnesses for the beauty of motherhood and the sanctity of human life. Thirty-two senators voted to protect women and babies from the tragedy of abortion. These 32 brave politicians deserve our gratitude and esteem, and we should write to them to thank them for their fidelity to the truth and goodness of human life. They performed heroically in the face of fierce opposition. May God reward them.
Last Thursday I watched via livestream the debate on the floor of the Nebraska State Legislature on LB626 and I was so edified to hear such clear reasoning, compassion, and compelling arguments in favor of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act. All the science is on our side, which is why the other side always tries to deflect attention away from the reality of the beating heart of another living person, to the false narrative that supporters of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act wish to deprive women of reproductive freedom. This is just a smokescreen. Verbal engineering always precedes social engineering, and the dishonesty, bitterness, and distorted reasoning on behalf of the opponents of LB626 is evil and truly shameful.
There was an amendment to the bill introduced which would have effectively gutted the pro-life protections by permitting abortions up to 12 weeks gestation, instead of forbidding the procedure after the detection of a heartbeat which is around 6 weeks gestation. Of the approximately 2,200 surgical abortions performed in the state of Nebraska each year, nearly 85% are carried out on mothers and their pre-born babies before 12 weeks gestation. The proposed amendment was debated but not voted on, because the bill didn’t reach cloture.
The vote last week on LB626 will ultimately cost the lives of thousands of pre-born children in Nebraska and will fail to protect women from certain sorrow and trauma. Nebraska law currently allows abortion up to 20 weeks gestation, and after the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer, Nebraska senators had a rare and unique opportunity to establish common sense protections for the unborn once a heartbeat is detected and prevent nearly 2,000 elective abortions from occurring in our state each year. This means that Nebraska continues to abandon mothers and babies to abortion.
In the words of Marion Minor, the Nebraska Associate Director for Pro-Life and Family Policy: “All preborn babies in Nebraska, whose beating hearts remind us of their existence, deserve to be kept safe during the most fragile moments of life. Their dignity does not depend on whether they are abled, wanted or from a family of means. They are created in God’s image and likeness. Some Nebraska lawmakers overlooked that fact today and cast aside an opportunity to safeguard the most vulnerable among us. Today’s vote is tragic, disappointing, and consequential for thousands upon thousands of preborn babies. As we pray for an end to abortion in our state, we must continue to boldly advocate for laws that protect life and extend support for expectant mothers choosing life against all odds.”
But as I said in the beginning of this column, this is no time to be discouraged or to give in to despair. There are many legislative avenues still available to senators to amend other bills and find ways to protect babies and their mothers from abortion.
We will continue to pray and to work tirelessly with all senators to uphold human dignity in law. We stand strong in our conviction to protect all human life, from conception to natural death. We will never stop defending life and protecting women. We will not rest until every human life is valued, cherished and protected. Our ultimate goal is to make abortion unthinkable.
Let our joy for life radiate from within us, so that even those who oppose us can’t help but see that joy as we reach out to them in a charitable way to encourage them to support life. I wish to thank sincerely Senator Joni Albrecht, the sponsor of LB626, for her unwavering leadership along with 31 state senators, who voted to uphold in law the dignity of the preborn. Also, thank you to Governor Jim Pillen for his strong support for protecting life at every stage of development. God bless you for your prayers and support.
