Nebraska advances bill requiring burial or cremation after abortions

A Nebraska lawmaker wants health care facilities statewide to give unborn fetuses a dignified burial

There is no consideration for either the dignity of the remains or the safety of public health

However, in both cases, the remains are the exact same. Nothing differs in the body of a baby between an elective or spontaneous abortion

The only difference is the cause of death. On Monday, State Senator Ben Hanson saw his bill move one step closer with 34 lawmakers voting in support

and 11 against, though one senator later said he accidentally voted yes

LB 632 makes it a requirement for hospitals or other facilities performing elective abortions

to properly dispose of the fetus. Hansen says health officials would be responsible for choosing burial or cremation

The first reason for this is public health. Failure to provide for proper and safe disposition of human tissue and blood

presents risks to the natural environment and the health of the general public by contamination of air, soil, and water

It's similar to a 2003 Nebraska law that requires hospitals to have a written policy

for handling the remains of a child born dead at any stage of a confirmed pregnancy

as long as the fetus can be seen with the naked eye. The main difference? That law doesn't apply to elective abortions

On average, there are more than 2,000 abortions in Nebraska per year, though not all elective abortions are completed inside a licensed facility

Senator Hansen's proposal mirrors a Minnesota law passed in 1987, which requires fetal remains from abortions or miscarriages to be handled in a dignified, sanitary and consistent way

At least 15 other states have adopted similar laws. Hansen says the bill isn about shaming mothers forcing them to make a decision or taking away reproductive rights But other lawmakers aren convinced LB 632 is about burdening abortion providers and patients and that is why no other provider that deals with

medical or pregnancy tissue is actually listed in the bill. It is about shaming and stigmatizing

care and it's about removing patients control over their own health care. Omaha Senator Ashley

Spivey calls the bill a backdoor attempt to ban abortions in Nebraska. She says it silences

patients because, as written, the bill doesn't require women to be notified about how fetal

remains are disposed of. I think this is yet another bill where we are seeing an attempt for

big government overreach into the personal lives of everyday Nebraskans. Both senators say this

bill could limit access to abortions, even under Nebraska's current law, which allows them up to

12 weeks. Others back the bill, one senator pointing to recent reports of fetal remains

being bought and sold as a reason for action. The federal government in many states have laws

prohibiting the sale and purchase of human fetal remains. Others argue it's a simple

straightforward bill that's being misunderstood and misrepresented by opponents. I don't know why

anybody, if God forbid they had to have an abortion, but they did, why they wouldn't want

that or any other body that when we pass away disposed of or have a proper, I call it, send-off

Lawmakers have filed changes and amendments to the bill, including language to protect IVF

services and procedures. It will need 33 votes to keep moving forward in the bill-making process

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey. Find more fact-based, unbiased updates on the Straight Arrow News mobile app