LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Nebraskans will have a chance to chart the state’s course on abortion access as they vote on Election Day.

Initiative 439 would roll back the current 12-week abortion ban, and Initiative 434 would enshrine the existing ban in the state constitution. Because the two ballot measures are separate, they can both technically pass. The winner in this case would be the initiative that scores the most votes.

ELECTOR GUIDE: 2024 Nebraska General Election

“This is certainly the first time in modern history, but we are not previously aware of an initiative where two initiatives have been presented to voters in conflict,” said Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen. April.

Protect Our Rights, the campaign behind 439, has attracted more than 200,000 signatures, which its director says shows popular support across the state.

“It’s just to remove government interference and let you know that doctors are making decisions in consultation with a woman, because this isn’t really a space where we need politicians,” said Allie Berry, executive director of Protect Our Rights.

Initiative 439 would expand access to the point of fetal viability as determined by a patient’s healthcare provider, but this is generally considered to be approximately 24 weeks. It also provides access at any time when necessary to protect the life or health of the patient.

Proponents and opponents voiced their opinions during a public hearing on the initiative earlier in October.

“There’s a lot of talk about women’s rights when proponents of 439 speak,” Kate Leising, who opposes 439 and supports 434, said at the hearing. “However, have these advocates thought that half of these aborted babies are female? These are women. What about her rights? Without the right to be born, other rights don’t really matter.”

Advocates pushing the cause said the current 12-week ban passed in 2023 isn’t working.

“Personally, I was a woman who miscarried at sixteen and a half weeks, and I started having miscarriages,” said Hannah Dumais, organizer of Protect Our Rights. “And I was sent home and had to wait until I was bleeding and almost dead before I had to come back. And so I know from a personal standpoint the impact it has on women.”

Initiative 439 is the last thing people will see on their ballots.

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