ACLU appeals Nebraska court’s decision to allow restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming healthcare – JURIST

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland announced Friday that they intend to appeal a Lancaster County district court ruling in favor of a Nebraska law restricting both abortions and gender-affirming healthcare to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The suit centers around the Nebraska state constitution’s one-subject clause, which restricts the purview of laws to only one issue.

ACLU of Nebraska executive director Mindy Rush Chipman shared her hope that the ruling would be overturned, stating:

We are hopeful that the Nebraska Supreme Court honors the language in our state’s constitution that ‘no bill shall contain more than one subject. We will continue to advocate for Nebraskans’ rights and do all we can to block both the abortion ban and the restriction on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood challenged LB574 in May, arguing that since the law regulates both abortion and gender-affirming healthcare access, it covers multiple topics and violates the one-subject clause of the state constitution. However, in early August, Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret rejected their argument. Maret held that, based on complex precedent in the Nebraska Supreme Court, the district court should air on the side of a liberal interpretation of the clause, writing, “[T]he solution is judicial humility, not abdication.”

Abortion rights and gender-affirming healthcare have both become pressing issues across the US. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 14 states have effectively outlawed abortion since the US Supreme Court released its 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, paving the way for states to regulate abortion access. And according to a CNN analysis, 19 states have enacted restrictions on gender-affirming care.