Tea Rohrberg of Omaha, Nebraska, was misled into signing a petition seeking to codify the state’s new 12-week abortion ban in the constitution by a volunteer who misrepresented it as a “pro-choice petition.” She took steps to officially remove her name from the petition by filing a notarized affidavit with Protect Our Rights, an organization advocating for abortion rights in Nebraska.
The Nebraska Secretary of State’s office has received 91 affidavits from voters requesting to be removed from abortion petitions, with the majority seeking to withdraw their names from petitions seeking to ban abortions. Both sides, Protect Women and Children and Protect Our Rights, have accused each other of using deceptive tactics to gather the required number of signatures before the deadline.
Nebraska has been embroiled in debates over abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision two years ago to end a constitutional right to abortion. Efforts by Republicans in Nebraska to impose abortion restrictions have faced challenges, with a 12-week ban with exceptions for certain cases being the current law. Voter initiatives in the state have shown a majority in support of legal abortion in various circumstances.
Anti-abortion advocates in Nebraska have launched multiple petition efforts this year, including one aiming to ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy. The push to codify the 12-week abortion ban into the state constitution is financially supported by Nebraska multimillionaires, including Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts. The Nebraska Catholic Conference has been actively promoting support for the 12-week ban petition across the state, acknowledging the unlikelihood of public support for a total ban without exceptions.
