HOLDREGE- During a recent barnstorming stop in Holdrege, Gov. Jim Pillen told a sizeable crowd that he and his fellow state lawmakers will not stop with the recently-passed 12-week abortion ban, and will instead push to outlaw the procedure statewide in the coming years. Pillen, without naming him, criticized Sen. Merv Riepe for withholding the pivotal 33rd vote for cloture on LB626, which would have prohibited abortions in the state after 6 weeks.

Pillen said that he "thought we had the heartbeat bill (LB626)," but "got nicked by one person caving in to pressure." Following the failed vote on LB626, a 12-week abortion ban was amended into LB574, which passed within the final days of the most recent legislative session. "We didn't give up," Pillen told the crowd, "We were able to combine them and get it at the last hour to get it down to 12 weeks. I can assure you as long as I'm the governor, that's unacceptable. I pushed hard to get us to 12, but we're going to end abortion."

When asked about the governor's comments, Andi Curry Grubb, of Planned Parenthood of Nebraska, said she was "not surprised" to hear him say he wanted a total ban. During the event, Pillen touched on several other subjects as well, including opportunity scholarships, gender-affirming care, and gun control. One attendee asked Pillen how he squared his Christian faith with signing into law LB77, which allowed for the permitless concealed carry of handguns, and whether or not this will lead to more gun-related deaths. "I'm a believer that where there's guns there's not violence," responded the governor, "so that's why I signed it...we need the constitutional freedom to protect ourselves."

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