LINCOLN- The final signature push for competing petition initiatives on abortion led to over 300 people filing affidavits claiming they mistakenly signed a petition and pulling their signatures. This number is the most filed against a single ballot initiative with the Secretary of State's Office. State Senator Megan Hunt of District 8 criticized the efforts of the anti-abortion petition group Protect Women and Children, claiming signees were purposefully coerced and misinformed.

Organizers for Protect Women and Children claim that combative efforts from groups trying to get signatures removed prove that they're concerned about their initiative failing. “The activists organizing their followers to ‘remove their names’ is a mere media spectacle,” Brenna Grasz said. The group stated that it had over 1,200 volunteers and other paid circulators who gathered 205,000 signatures.

Under the current law, Nebraska restricts abortion to 12 weeks gestational age, or about 10 weeks after fertilization. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has stated that their goal is to ban abortion outright. The pro-choice initiative Protect Our Rights would cement the right to abortion in the state's constitution until the point of fetal viability, typically at 22 to 24 weeks gestation.

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