Nebraska Governor Signs Bill Restricting Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

On Monday, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed a bill that bans abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming medical care for people under the age of 19. The bill is the culmination of a series of restrictions that Republicans have been pushing for across the United States. Pillen called it “the most significant win for social conservative agenda in over a generation of Nebraska” before signing the bill while holding the 5-day-old daughter of some friends, with his two oldest granddaughters standing next to him.

The abortion ban takes effect immediately, while the ban on gender-affirming care takes effect on October 1. The law also restricts the use of hormone treatments and puberty blockers in minors, with the state’s chief medical officer, an ear, nose and throat doctor, in charge of setting the rules for those therapies. Furthermore, the law will prevent transgender people under 19 from receiving any gender-confirming surgery.

Opponents of the bill have promised to sue to try and block the law. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska said in a statement that the bill “is an affront to the dignity and health of Nebraskans and will cause irreparable harm to young people in the state.”

The bill is the latest in a series of restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care that Republicans have been pushing for across the United States. The bill is seen as a victory for social conservatives, but it has been met with criticism from those who argue that it will cause irreparable harm to young people in the state. It remains to be seen how the law will be enforced and whether it will be overturned in court.