LINCOLN - Nebraska lawmakers shut down a filibuster and advanced a bill Wednesday to ban a type of second-trimester abortion in the state.

Legislative Bill 814, introduced by State Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, drew 34 votes on a filibuster-ending cloture motion. The motion needed 33 to succeed. Senators then gave the bill 34-9 first-round approval.

The action came a week after Geist said she did not have votes for cloture. But a week of work and a promise of amending the bill got it over the first hurdle. LB 814 seeks to ban a common second-trimester abortion method known medically as dilation and evacuation. The procedure involves dilating a woman’s cervix and removing the fetus in pieces. Opponents call the procedure dismemberment abortion.

Under the bill it would be a Class IV felony, punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine, for a doctor to perform such an abortion. The bill also would allow a doctor to be sued for performing the procedure. The woman having such an abortion could not be charged.

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