Nebraska Moves to Tighten Abortion Restrictions

Nebraska lawmakers advanced two bills Wednesday to make it more difficult to get an abortion in the state: One tightens parental notification rules, while the other blocks the use of telemedicine for doctors to provide drug-induced abortions, the Omaha World-Herald reported Thursday.

State Sen. Lydia Brasch of Bancroft, who introduced the parental notification legislation, said she wants to get parents more involved with abortions decisions and also wants to reduce the number of abortions.

Having guidance from a parent would promote a pregnant girl's physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, she said.

“Such emotionally charged and irreversible decisions should not solely be left to a minor,” Brasch said. “At times like that, a girl needs her mother.”

Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln, who sponsored the telemedicine bill, said the measure is necessary to protect women's health and safety from a practice pioneered in Iowa.

In that state, a woman can go to get examined by a nurse, and then talk to a doctor via the Internet on a private computer. That doctor can then remotely open a container to provide the patient with medication to induce an abortion.