Latest news with #Holdcroft
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawmakers tasked with defining qualifying conditions for Nebraska medical cannabis
State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair kneels to talk with State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue. Hansen is the lead sponsor on a 2025 bill to help give structure to the state's new medical cannabis laws. Holdcroft is the chair of the General Affairs Committee considering his bill. March 25, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — The path forward for a medical cannabis bill in the Nebraska Legislature appears more uncertain after a committee chair tasked his members with deciding what medical conditions would qualify for access in the state and which forms of medical cannabis would be allowed. State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, chair of the Legislature's General Affairs Committee, described that task to his seven fellow committee members Wednesday. He provided them lists to choose a handful from the 'debilitating medical conditions' approved in neighboring Iowa, as well as what he said were the 42 conditions approved across the 38 other states with medical cannabis laws. Holdcroft described the comprehensive list as 'everything but the kitchen sink' in talking with the Nebraska Examiner, explaining that the 'people were silent' on what medical conditions would apply when they overwhelmingly adopted legalizing medical cannabis in November. 'We make it legal for anything and everything, it's essentially recreational marijuana at that point,' Holdcroft said, a stance advocates of the ballot measure argue is wrong. Legislative Bill 677, from State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, an effort aiming to flesh out a state regulatory scheme for medical cannabis, already faced an uphill climb to get out of committee among conservatives. Hansen, a Republican with a more Libertarian bent, said he still hopes to get his bill out of committee as 'clean and popular as we can.' Some advocates who championed the 2024 ballot measure say their support of the bill could be in jeopardy if Holdcroft's more limited approach is taken up. They and Hansen continue to hunt for a path forward that remains closer to voters' intent. 'It's almost like whatever we kick out of committee is going to be 'the' bill that I would like to see, that the industry would like to see, that the people who voted for it would like to see,' Hansen said. 'And that the Legislature can live with, at least 33 people can.' Holdcroft voiced his goal to get an amended version of LB 677 advanced by the end of next week. Any version would need at least five votes. Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and 2024 campaign manager for the ballot measure, said the task that Holdcroft gave to his committee is disrespectful and that those concessions, among others, should be off the table. She said advocates didn't work so hard, gathering petition signatures and stories of pain and suffering from Nebraskans, to let a few senators decide who should be helped. Eggers has advocated on behalf of her youngest son, Colton, and said she'd never tell someone one child's life was more worthy than someone else's. 'Shame on them for trying to do that,' Eggers said. Eggers thanked Hansen for all his work in hearing from supporters, respecting ballot language and helping advocates. But she said the time for other lawmakers to voice opinions on what is 'right' is long overdue. Lawmakers had their chance, but they repeatedly pushed supporters away, Eggers explained, and 'essentially shut the door on our face each and every time' until the ballot was the only option. The measure to legalize up to 5 ounces of medical cannabis with a health care practitioner's recommendation passed with more than 71% of the vote, including majority support in all 49 legislative districts. A second measure, to set up the regulatory scheme through a new Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission, passed with 67%. It got majority support in 46 legislative districts. Eggers said that while the campaign thought companion legislation to clarify the state's regulatory approach could be a 'best scenario' to help enact the will of the people, she said some lawmakers had gone too far. 'We are not in a position any longer, now that the people have spoken, to let our initiative be gutted into something that is not at all what the people passed,' Eggers said. Holdcroft said he would like his committee to wade through the lists and identify about six conditions that would qualify for access to medical cannabis, though he said he wouldn't object to the Iowa list of: Cancer, if the underlying condition or treatment produces severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting. Seizures, including epilepsy. Multiple sclerosis with severe or persistent muscle spasms. AIDS or HIV. Crohn's disease. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. Any terminal illness, with a probable life expectancy of under one year, if the illness or its treatment produces severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting. Parkinson's disease. Chronic pain. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Severe, intractable autism with self-injurious or aggressive behaviors (including pediatric). Ulcerative colitis. Corticobasal degeneration. Iowa state law also creates a path to expanding conditions via a recommendation by the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board and later adoption by the Iowa Board of Medicine. 'I think the approach should be: Keep it small, keep it restricted and do floor amendments if they want to expand it,' Holdcroft said. According to Holdcroft's second list, cancer, epilepsy or seizures and HIV or AIDS are listed in 'every' state; multiple sclerosis is listed in 'nearly' all states; chronic pain, PTSD and Chrohn's disease or inflammatory bowel disease are listed in 'most' states; and Parkinson's disease, glaucoma or ALS are listed in 'many' states. Other conditions on Holdcroft's lists range from sleep apnea, menstrual pain, sickle cell disease, tinnitus or 'any condition for which a physician would otherwise prescribe an opioid' to Lewy body disease, Alzheimer's, addiction recovery, hepatitis C or Huntington's disease. 'Conditions like severe nausea, cachexia/wasting syndrome and terminal illness are also frequently included,' Holdcroft's handouts state. Holdcroft said three conditions are likely must-haves: childhood epilepsy, terminal cancer and lifelong chronic pain. Part of that is because children with debilitating seizures were the face of the campaign, as moms and dads led the charge for more than 11 years at the statehouse. One condition that Holdcroft cast doubt on and said would need to be more specific: PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Holdcroft said the lists are not final, or even preliminary, but should serve as a starting point. State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, committee vice chair, said lawmakers should do as little as needed to give structure to voters' wishes but not 'undermine' or 'walk back' their will. He noted voters purposefully approved up to 5 ounces of cannabis and no specific conditions. Edison McDonald, executive director of the Arc of Nebraska, said during the bill's hearing not to limit the conditions to prevent needing annual bills to expand the list. Cavanaugh said the arbitrary deliberations could exclude voters who specifically supported the measures for themselves or loved ones. 'I think when you start picking arbitrary numbers of maladies that will qualify, that is a disservice,' he said. Cavanaugh said he always thinks of one of his constituents alongside marijuana regulations. He described her as somebody's grandma in a fancy house in the Dundee neighborhood in Omaha, 'not somebody you would necessarily think of as an advocate for legal cannabis.' She was, he said, for her husband who had stomach cancer and had tried many drugs to help. Cavanaugh's district in midtown Omaha had the highest support for the regulatory measure. 'My approach would be to do as little as necessary to make sure that people are going to be able to access this safely and legally,' Cavanaugh said. He suggested delegating authority for putting together or researching qualifying conditions to the new Medical Cannabis Commission. Hansen said he is working hard with committee members to see what they can 'live with,' but if those changes differ with what he or advocates can live with, then the bill will be adjusted during debate. However, as recent filibuster-plagued sessions have shown, opponents can use legislative rules to block how many amendments can be added, further complicating the bill's path toward securing the 33 votes it would need to become law. Under the Nebraska Constitution, amending voter-approved laws requires two-thirds of the 49-member Legislature. Hansen said it may be necessary to get something passed first, to set up the rules and regulations and get the framework established, and not 'eat the whole apple in one setting.' Hansen repeated the importance of getting something passed in 2025 as the voter-approved regulatory law is set to take effect in less than three months, making it virtually impossible for the new Medical Cannabis Commission — which has taken zero steps toward regulations — to have formal guidance in place by July 1. State licensing is supposed to begin by Oct. 1. The Attorney General's Office has threatened to sue if the cannabis commission begins licensing. Holdcroft said the bill being considered would delay both the regulatory and licensing deadlines by at least three months. The law legalizing medical cannabis with a written doctor's note took effect Dec. 12, in all forms and for all conditions. However, with no guidance from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, many advocates have told the Nebraska Examiner that doctors are refusing to recommend the drug that would need to be purchased out of state. Holdcroft has suggested lowering the 5-ounce authorization to 300 milligrams, a limit that was suggested by freshman State Sen. Jared Storm of David City via LB 483. Holdcroft also suggested beginning at pills, oils or tinctures as part of Storm's bill and expanding from there. Smoking as a permissible form of use is a roadblock for a majority of the committee. Much of the hesitation revolves around fear of legalizing recreational marijuana, which Hansen noted many on the committee 'vehemently oppose' — as do Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., who are urging the Legislature to pass no cannabis-related laws this spring. Hansen said avoidance could risk potential legal challenges or public backlash, one of the 'fastest ways' he said to get voters to consider recreational marijuana. 'One of the fastest tracks of that happening in Nebraska is not doing what the people voted for or cutting this way too short or restricting it too much, or not passing something at all,' Hansen said. Hansen said that if that did happen, he wouldn't be surprised if come November 2026, voters are left weighing whether to approve recreational marijuana. The Blair senator has described the path ahead, with no law change, where the commission could continue to have no funds and no way to do its job, as the 'Wild West.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medical cannabis bill awaits amendment as possible green light to full Nebraska Legislature
Supporters of medical cannabis helped two measures reach the 2024 general election ballot, Initiatives 437 and 438. Some spoke during a public hearing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Oct. 25, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — The legislative committee mulling how to help implement Nebraska's voter-led medical cannabis laws awaits an amendment before lawmakers vote on whether to advance the bill. Legislative Bill 677, from State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, seeks to help carry out the overwhelming voter approval to legalize and regulate medical cannabis in the state last fall. His bill would create a regulatory structure for licensing and detail how patients or caregivers could become registered to obtain up to 5 ounces of physician-recommended cannabis at one time. State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, chair of the Legislature's General Affairs Committee, said last week that he and seven other committee members were awaiting a final amendment that could help the currently deadlocked committee decide whether to advance the bill. 'The people have spoken, and we need to put in place the best possible regulatory structure,' Holdcroft told the Nebraska Examiner. Hansen has said one key change in his amendment would be tracking medical cannabis through the state's prescription drug monitoring program, similar to the process for opioids. At least nine states use a local prescription drug monitoring program to carry out local medicinal cannabis laws. The Blair senator has also voiced support for defining a 'qualifying medical condition' for which a health care practitioner may recommend the drug and requiring that a physician be required to be appointed to one of the two at-large spots on the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission charged with regulating and implementing the laws. The new commission automatically includes the three commissioners of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. Under current law, the governor has the option to appoint two more members. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., have urged the Legislature to take no action on the laws. Hilgers' office has threatened legal action if the new commission licenses new businesses later this year or in the future. However, every member of the General Affairs Committee in talking with the Examiner said some legislation could be helpful in upholding the will of the people. Holdcroft, as chair, has already designated LB 677 as one of his committee's two 2025 priority bills, increasing the chances the bill would be debated by the full Legislature, if it moves forward. The final amendment could be key to LB 677's prospects this year as Holdcroft and State Sens. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, Dan Quick of Grand Island and Victor Rountree of Bellevue have already voiced support for advancing the bill. The bill needs at least five votes to advance to the floor. Cavanaugh, the committee vice chair, as well as Quick and Rountree, said the will of the people is clear about legalized medicinal cannabis. 'I think that we should disturb that as little as possible while giving structure to it,' Cavanaugh said. Rountree echoed that 'the people are wise,' while Quick noted medical cannabis could be the right alternative for some people compared to opioid prescriptions. The other half of the committee still has some concerns, State Sens. Bob Andersen of north-central Sarpy County, Stan Clouse of Kearney, Barry DeKay of Niobrara and Jared Storm of David City. Storm brought a competing cannabis-related bill to the committee this year that would limit the forms of legal medical cannabis with a much smaller legal amount. Much of the caution centers on a desire to prevent a legal path in the future toward recreational marijuana. Some senators also have said they are concerned because the substance remains listed as a Schedule I drug by the federal government. Federal agencies have taken steps toward reclassification, and President Donald Trump has also voiced support for legalized cannabis. Thirty-eight other states legalized medicinal cannabis before Nebraska. 'We need to maintain the will of the people, but we need to do it in a responsible way,' Andersen said last week. Clouse and DeKay said they would like to limit or eliminate smoking as an acceptable form of taking or ingesting medical cannabis. Public smoking is already prohibited under the state's Clean Indoor Air Act passed in 2008, similar to cigarettes and vapes. DeKay said his preference would be limiting medicinal cannabis to pills, oils or ointments. 'I will support medical marijuana but it may not be totally in agreement with what everybody wants to on the committee,' DeKay said. Lawmakers, advocates mull medical cannabis regs to prevent 'Wild West' in Nebraska Under the voter-approved laws, medical cannabis is legal in all forms with a written physician's recommendation. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services had not issued any guidance on the laws as of earlier this month. Clouse and Storm have said a physician should serve on the commission, and Clouse said the fifth spot should be reserved for a law enforcement representative. 'I think there is a need and use for medicinal cannabis and marijuana,' Clouse said. 'I think we need to regulate it so that the people that need it are getting it but it doesn't turn into something that eventually evolves into recreational use.' Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the group that spearheaded the ballot initiative, has focused its attention on Andersen, Clouse and DeKay to find one more vote to get LB 677 to the floor. Gov. Jim Pillen has not weighed in on Hansen's bill but in December, when signing the measures into law, joined Hilgers in stating that 'serious issues' remained about the validity and legality of the laws. Storm in January brought LB 483 to limit permissible cannabis forms to pills and liquid tinctures, but he's since said he is open to oils, creams, ointments, suppositories or nebulizers. He's pointed to the medical program in Iowa that prohibits smoking cannabis in any form. A freshman senator from David City, Storm said at his bill's hearing that he has sympathy for those suffering but is focused on getting the regulations right. 'I think that we slow walk it and we get this right, because if we get it wrong, you let the genie out of the bottle, you're not getting it back in,' Storm said earlier this month, suggesting delaying action to 2026. 'So we slow walk this, do what's right, truly help people the best we possibly can.' Hilgers said last week at a news conference that the Feb. 28 amendment from Hansen risked rewriting the voter-approved process and creating 'an entire infrastructure and licensing scheme to set the stage for recreational marijuana.' 'It is not the will of the people to take an opening on medicinal marijuana, rip up the regulatory structure passed by the people, and pass something that appears to have been drafted entirely by, or mostly, by out-of-state interests who want to exploit the Nebraska market for their own particular profit,' he said. Hilgers encouraged anyone interested in the issue, which he described as 'most Nebraskans,' to read Hansen's latest amendment 'and walk away with any other impression other than this is set up for a recreational marijuana industry.' Hilgers' office opposed LB 677 and threatened legal action against the Medical Cannabis Commission if it licenses businesses. Hilgers said his office would have 'more to say in the coming days and weeks' on the proposals. Hansen has repeatedly pushed back on criticisms that his bill could lead to recreational marijuana use, telling the committee that is a conversation for the future while his bill seeks to address and avoid the potential 'Wild West' if no bills are passed this year. Holdcroft the past two years voted against recreational marijuana on the Judiciary Committee, but, medicinally, 'the people have spoken,' he said. Like Hansen, Holdcroft too has pushed back on the Attorney General's Office, which would have a dedicated assistant attorney general under LB 677 to assist the commission. 'What I'm hearing here … is the attorney general wants us to keep this law stupid, where he can find some loopholes in it and make it illegal,' Holdcroft told a representative of the AG's Office at LB 677's hearing. 'The Legislature just isn't that kind of body.' Tight deadlines present another set of wrinkles in setting up the new medical cannabis laws. Under the voter-approved law, the Medical Cannabis Commission has until July 1 to establish criteria to accept or deny applications for registered establishments. Registrations must begin by Oct. 1. Hobert Rupe, executive director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, who under Hansen's bill could serve the same role on the Medical Cannabis Commission, told the General Affairs Committee and Appropriations Committee last week that his team has no budget for the medical cannabis work. 'As you're aware, the public passed the initiatives,' Rupe told the Appropriations Committee on Thursday. 'Well, what they did was they created an agency without any budget or any staff.' Rupe said those funds could come either through the next two-year state budget or an accompanying appropriation through Hansen's bill, if passed. Without a budget, the commissioners can't have a public hearing without paying for or creating a public hearing notice. The Examiner asked State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, chair of the Appropriations Committee, on Thursday, before Rupe's budget hearing, what the committee would do with the new commission. Clements said it was the first he had heard of the new commission and its budget. Rupe told Clements' committee that getting a cannabis bill out of committee could help him and his commissioners 'hang our hat on' it taking effect and plan ahead, given the timeline. 'I hope that whatever comes out of the Legislature … might extend those deadlines a little bit,' Rupe said. 'Even so, even if that's extended, that's not a lot of time to do a stand-up agency, even if they are sharing resources with us.' The latest amendment to Hansen's bill would delay the initial rulemaking to Oct. 1 and set a first round of applications between Oct. 13 and Dec. 15. Those applications would need to be approved or denied by March 16, 2026. Of the budget, Clements told Rupe of Hansen's pending bill: 'I guess we'll have to wait and see what comes out there then.' Hansen's bill, because it would amend legal language from a ballot measure, would require at least 33 votes to take effect, regardless of any filibuster, under the Nebraska Constitution. John Kuehn v. Secretary of State Bob Evnen and ballot sponsors Anna Wishart, Crista Eggers and Adam Morfeld (alleging fraud and that ballot measures should not have been put on the ballot) Sept. 12: Lawsuit filed to invalidate medical cannabis petitions. Evnen and the Attorney General's Office later joined forces with Kuehn against the proposed laws. Oct. 29-Nov. 4: Civil trial is held against the medical cannabis ballot measures. Nov. 5: Nebraskans overwhelmingly approve measures to legalize and regulate medical cannabis. Nov. 26: Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong rules in favor of the ballot measure sponsors, upholding the vote of the people. Dec. 5: Appeal filed to Nebraska Court of Appeals, days later picked up by the Nebraska Supreme Court. March 10: Kuehn files a brief explaining the reason for appeal. Early April: Evnen's brief regarding the appeal or cross-appeal, if any, is due. Late April/Early May: The ballot sponsors' brief or cross-appeal, if any, is due. After this point, the case can be listed as ready for oral arguments at a future date. John Kuehn v. Gov. Jim Pillen; Secretary of State Bob Evnen; ballot sponsors Anna Wishart, Crista Eggers and Adam Morfeld; Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services CEO Steve Corsi; State Treasurer Tom Briese; Nebraska Tax Commissioner Jim Kamm; and three commissioners on the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission Bruce Bailey, Harry Hoch, Jr. and Kim Lowe (alleging medical cannabis laws are unconstitutionally preempted by the federal government) Dec. 10: Lawsuit filed to stop the implementation of the ballot measures. Dec. 11: Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong declines to block measures from taking effect. Dec. 12: Pillen signs ballot measures into law to legalize and regulate medical cannabis. Jan. 10: Kuehn amends lawsuit to include Corsi, Briese, Kamm, Bailey, Hoch and Lowe. Feb. 14: Pillen, Evnen, Corsi, Briese and Kamm (the 'state defendants') file to dismiss the case. Feb. 17: Ballot sponsors file to dismiss the case. Late March: Any remaining motions to dismiss or briefs in support of motions to dismiss are due. Late April: Kuehn deadline to reply to motions to dismiss. Mid-May: Any reply briefs to Kuehn are due. May 20: Judge Strong will host an in-person hearing at 10 a.m. on the motions to dismiss. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nebraska lawmaker pushes to overhaul elections, early voting over integrity concerns
Teresa Ranken, 59, of Lincoln, hangs up signs reminding voters of acceptable forms of identification cards needed for voting on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, at Sower Church in Lincoln, Neb. (Sammy Smith/Nebraska News Service) LINCOLN — State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue says he wants to eliminate online voter registration, restrict absentee voting, provide more security for ballot boxes and require hand-counting of election results, citing election integrity concerns. State and local election officials testified against Holdcroft's Legislative Bill 541 during its public hearing Wednesday before the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, questioning the need for changes to election law and raising concerns about possibly violating federal law and the potential costs to taxpayers. Other bill opponents said the changes would introduce unnecessary burdens to voters and make it harder for Nebraskans to participate in elections. Holdcroft said while he has confidence in the integrity of Nebraska elections, the bill is 'simply to give peace of mind to the electorate and our state regarding the security of our elections.' Supporters of the bill claim it would prevent voter fraud and 'cheating' in state elections, pointing to the 2020 election, when President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory but lost to former President Joe Biden. The Nebraska proposal is being discussed as Republicans across the country ramped up unproven claims of non-citizen voting and fraud. Deputy Nebraska Secretary of State Wayne Bena, who oversees the state's Elections Division, said state elections officials appreciated Holdcroft's interest in election integrity. He said Secretary of State Robert Evnen agrees with some provisions of LB 541, such as tightening security around ballot boxes, but said Evnen has practical concerns about hand counting and legal concerns about voter registration changes. '[Hand] counting, which is statistically the least reliable way that you can count ballots, add significant times and add significant cost to conducting an election,' Bena said. Tracy Overstreet, Hall County Election Commissioner, said during the hearing that the proposed changes would require her to hire more staff and violate the federal National Voting Rights Act because of the way the bill would restrict voter registration by mail. According to the bill's fiscal note, the changes Holdcroft seeks would cost the state nearly $1 million when Nebraska is facing a significant budget shortfall. Danna Seevers, who testified in support of the bill, said the committee 'should act to honor the will of the people who overwhelmingly elected Donald Trump in 2024 and carry out his agenda,' adding that LB 541 delivers on that with 'surgical precision.' Trump met with state governors late last month, including Gov. Jim Pillen, and urged them to modify their voting laws to implement paper ballots, one-day voting, voter ID and proof of citizenship. However, Most states, including Nebraska, already have voter ID laws and utilize paper ballots, often as backups, and only U.S. citizens are legally allowed to vote in federal elections. 'This isn't just a bill,' Seevers said. 'It's a battle cry for election integrity that echoes Trump's call to action.' Voting advocacy groups said the bill would place unnecessary burdens on voters. 'By restricting early voting to a handful of the scenarios, voting in Nebraska will become more challenging and less convenient,' said Cesar Garcia, a Nebraska Appleseed's Community Organizer. 'As a consequence, our state will likely see lower voter turnout.' Nebraskans passed a state constitutional amendment in 2022 requiring the Legislature to implement voter ID in Nebraska. Fewer voters were turned away under the law than in other states with similar laws. The committee took no immediate action on the bill. Bena said the Secretary of State and the county election commissioners would implement the Holdcroft bill if the Legislature passes it. 'However, if you're asking our office [if] such a law is justified?' Bena said. 'The answer is no.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Testifiers question need for proposed Nebraska requirements for abortion pills
State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue prepares to testify Thursday to the Nebraska Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee. (Screenshot of Nebraska Public Media stream) LINCOLN — Advocates for a Nebraska legislative bill that would add new steps women must take to access abortion pills said they want to make using the pills safer for pregnant women. Opponents testifying during the public hearing Thursday for Legislative Bill 512 said the goal of the measure by State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue is to reduce the use of the drugs. LB 512 does not outright ban or directly restrict mifepristone or misoprostol, the typical two-drug regimen for a medical abortion. But it adds several required steps. It would require women to see a doctor three to 14 days after being given the pill, in addition to before, which state law already required. It would require testing for an ectopic pregnancy. The bill also would require doctors to estimate and document the gestational age of the pregnancy before the pill is given and to report information about the use of the pill to the state. Part of the screening requirement had been aimed at ensuring whether the woman's blood type requires offering women an additional treatment to reduce the likelihood of future miscarriages. But Holdcroft told the Health and Human Services Committee that he introduced a white-copy amendment to remove that blood screening because medical practices have moved away from the value of that type of testing. He said his goal is to make sure no place acts the way he perceives some abortion clinics have, by providing abortion pills without proper oversight. 'No matter how any of us feels about the issue of abortion, we can all agree that no pregnant woman should ever be neglected or endangered by a careless abortion provider,' Holdcroft said. Abortion-rights groups and medical professionals supportive of reproductive rights said the result of the new restrictions and requirements on the use of abortion pills is aimed at reducing the ease of use. While Nebraska law requires in-person dispensing of abortion pills, some women still obtain them online from out-of-state sources. Opponents argued that the bill's additional restrictions could push more women toward darker corners of the internet to seek out pills, which they said would likely increase risks. Some also said they fear the state or federal government knowing what they were doing. Critics of how the pill is used said the ease with which abortion pills can be obtained online makes enforcing time-tied abortion bans like Nebraska's difficult to enforce. They want the bill to more strictly and explicitly clarify that the pills cannot be ordered and delivered independently of a local medical provider. Supporters argued they cannot accurately track complications like excessive bleeding and ineffective or incomplete abortions from the abortion pills without requiring a follow-up appointment. They say they want to close the data gap on medical abortions, particularly any going untracked today. Nebraska law today prohibits most abortions after 12 weeks gestational age, with legal exceptions after that for the life of the mother or for rape or incest. Voters in November passed a state constitutional amendment cementing current law as the latest an abortion could happen, banning abortions after the first trimester of pregnancy. The way the amendment was written left room for state lawmakers to restrict abortion further, up to a full ban, so Holdcroft's bill would be legal, if approved. Gov. Jim Pillen and some in the administration of President Donald Trump have embraced the anti-abortion movement's focus on tightening restrictions on medical abortions. Some abortion opponents opposed LB 512 on Wednesday, fearing that its language might somehow codify the legality of medical abortions in Nebraska beyond the scope of the bill. Teresa Fondren of Abolish Abortion Nebraska said her God equates abortion with murder. She says she opposes LB 512 and all forms of abortion, including medical abortion. She said she doesn't want to make it safer. 'This bill plainly treats abortion like health care, which can be regulated, rather than murder,' she said. State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha apologized to the crowd of testifiers for the all-male HHS Committee not having at least one member who knows what it means to be pregnant. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, a swing vote on abortion bills, questioned why the measure appeared worded broadly enough to affect more than the state's two abortion clinics. 'Why wouldn't you limit this piece of legislation to just abortion centers?' Riepe asked. Holdcroft said he wrote the bill to limit the reach to abortion providers. Riepe said the language of the bill risked reaching accidentally into miscarriage care and other medical care. Doctors who testified argued that the pills commonly prescribed for chemical abortions can be used during miscarriage care, and are sometimes prescribed for that purpose. Holdcroft said the bill would hold no woman responsible if she does not attend the follow-up exam. It aims consequences at physicians, and Riepe said that might create liability concerns. 'What my bill does is it tries to establish a standard of care for chemical abortions,' Holdcroft said. 'That's all it is.' Dr. Timothy Tesmer, Nebraska's chief medical officer, represented Pillen's support for LB 512. He said the state would like to know more about complications. The lack of follow-up appointments and U.S. Food and Drug Administration research on potential complications like bleeding and infection show the need for more information and data on what the drugs do to pregnant women. He said the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services can't say much about the impacts of the drugs HHS says were responsible for 82% of Nebraska abortions in 2023. Under questioning from Fredrickson about the medical safety of one drug used in medical abortions, Tesmer said, 'I'd have to say it's safe to use … in the right or proper context.' Marion Miner of the Nebraska Catholic Conference said the church would prefer no abortions, but they would rather see a minimum standard of care than see pregnant women die or be injured. 'You screen for ectopic pregnancy,' Miner said in his testimony. 'You schedule a follow-up afterward. You report complications. It's that simple.' Sandy Danek, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, said her group opposes abortion but backs LB 512 because 'supporting the woman who participates in an abortion is not an approval of the procedure.' Dr. Elizabeth Constance, a maternal-fetal specialist testifying for the Nebraska Medical Association, pushed back on the bill, saying it stepped the Legislature once again in between patients and the best care physicians can provide. She said she runs a fertility clinic in Omaha and said the same medications used to terminate pregnancies can also be used to help with miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. 'Requiring in-person follow-up does nothing to help patient safety,' Constance said. 'But it does put an unnecessary and undue burden on our patients, particularly those from rural communities who may have to travel several hours.' Constance said requiring reporting of heavy or adverse bleeding misunderstands what the drugs do, because 'every single person' who uses the drug will have 'heavy bleeding.' Adelle Burk, senior manager of public affairs for Planned Parenthood North Central States, said her group opposes LB 512 because it is 'unnecessary government overreach.' Burk said there is no medical reason to require the follow-up appointment. She said the reporting process is designed to make life more difficult for clinics. 'LB 512 creates a one-size-fits-all political mandate that doesn't consider the patient's individual needs,' she said. State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair asked Burk if her organization might be more willing to be neutral on the bill if the mandated visit and reporting requirements were tweaked. Burk said changes could make the bill 'better,' but she stopped short of saying the organization would support it. Dr. Emily Patel, an OB-GYN speaking in her personal capacity, called LB 512 a 'thinly veiled attempt' to make abortion care harder for patients to obtain and more difficult for medical professionals to provide. She said that if safety were the priority, the bill would regulate the drug for all uses, not just some. She said research shows erectile dysfunction pills are riskier and less regulated. 'Let me be clear, LB 512 will not improve patient safety or help outcomes,' she said. 'It is about controlling women's reproductive choices.' Taylor Givens-Dunn of I Be Black Girl called LB 512 a 'direct attack on reproductive autonomy' that she said could disproportionately impact people in poverty and people of color. 'It undermines the doctor-patient relationship and disregards the expertise of medical professionals,' she said. Bailey Joy Annenson of the League of Women Voters of Nebraska said she and her partner are deciding where and whether to have a family and that state laws like LB 512 will have an impact. She said the risk of having fewer maternal care doctors is a very real risk for young professionals deciding where to locate and where to raise young families. Holdcroft and Riepe agreed at the end of the hearing that they need HHS to do a better job holding wayward providers accountable. The committee took no immediate action on LB 512. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
