Karen Bowling of Nebraska Family Alliance – speaking about the measures on Washington Watch Thursday – described Initiative 434 as "common-sense protection."
"It's defending parents' rights, it's keeping our daughters safe, it's preserving parental notification to protect parents and their daughters," said Bowling. "It's also safeguarding health and safety standards to ensure only licensed physicians are providing health care to women in need and in crisis, and it also makes certain we do not fund abortions here."
Supporters of abortion say Initiative 439 is necessary to help women in Nebraska in a post-Roe world, but Bowling argued it would hurt women and the state.
"The way the language for 439 was written, the first words say 'All persons shall have a fundamental right to abortion' … [and] 'all persons' means minors," said Bowling. "That also means … men and even traffickers can abuse women. But we want to protect our children –so that's why we have a competing ballot measure [known as] 434."
Pointing to 439, Bowling said it "jeopardizes women's health and safety" and "deregulates the abortion industry in Nebraska."
