ACLU Nebraska Legal Program - Reproductive Freedom
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Prisoners have the right to an abortion, even behind bars.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is the federal court that
controls Nebraska, and that court recently ruled that a woman's
right to choose an abortion exists even when she's incarcerated.
This summer, ACLU Nebraska wrote a letter to the Nebraska Department
of Corrections to ensure they were aware of the law, and we have
written every single county jail to put them on notice too. If
you know a prisoner--whether she's serving a sentence or is a
pre-trial detainee--make she sure knows she has the right to choose.
That's the good news. The bad news is that abortions are
"elective procedures" unless a doctor says it's medically necessary,
and that means that the prison or jail can require the woman to pay
for it. The government doesn't have to pay for the medical
care, but they do have to transport the woman to medical
appointments. Contact ACLU Nebraska if you have questions
about this right. (July 27, 2009)
A minor has a right to ask a judge for an abortion.
The process is called a "judicial bypass," and it is only granted to
young women who can prove to the court that they are emotionally
mature enough to make this decision and that there are serious
reason why they cannot tell their parents to get parental permission
for the abortion. Nebraska state law explicitly requires every
courthouse to put the judicial bypass forms out where they can be
easily found, without making an embarrassed teenager have to ask for
help from anyone. ACLU Nebraska surveyed Nebraska courthouses
in the summer of 2005 and found only 1 county was obeying the law.
The rest simply did not have the forms on display...making yet
another obstacle to young women's ability to exercise their
reproductive right to choose. ACLU intervention resulted in a
letter going to every Clerk of the Court across the state, and our
survey indicates the law is being followed now. Top
What information are we giving teens about preventing disease
and pregnancy?
In Nebraska, most high school students receive some form of sex
education in school. Unfortunately, it appears many schools
are only providing biased, unhelpful information to the teens in
their care. There are some programs that only teach abstinence
as the solution, leaving out valuable information about the need to
be educated about and protected from disease and unwanted pregnancy
by offering information about other birth control methods.
Nationwide studies have shown "abstinence only" programs simply
don't work. In 2005, we began surveying Nebraska high schools
to learn what programs are being taught to our state's children. The
survey also provided educational information for school
superintendents about the failures of "abstinence only" programming.
The survey is being done in cooperation with the Pro-Choice
Coalition of Nebraska with our partner, Planned Parenthood.
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