Reproductive Freedom

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What you need to know

33,000

Over 33,000 Nebraska women become pregnant every year.

43%

43% of pregnancies in Nebraska are unintended.

50th

Nebraska ranks 50th in state funding for family planning services that reduce unintended pregnancies.

The ACLU works to ensure that all Nebraskans can make their own decisions about whether and when to have a child without undue political interference.

A decision about having a baby or having an abortion is a deeply personal, private decision best left to pregnant Nebraskans, their family, and their doctor. Yet, Nebraska puts harmful restrictions between Nebraskans and their doctors. Although abortion is still legal in Nebraska, multiple cities, towns and villages throughout the state have introduced local ordinances attempting to ban abortion.

Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures performed today, and it's incredibly safe. But laws that make it difficult if not impossible for people to get an abortion if they need one, particularly if they are poor, are increasing at an alarming pace. Nebraska, a state with incredible barriers to access abortion services, continues to be an incubator of bad ideas. Lawmakers should stop playing doctor and should stop their constant attempts to shut down women's health centers, reduce access to affordable birth control, and shame women who have abortions.

Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, we strive to ensure that every Nebraskan has the opportunity to make the decisions that are right for their family and the ability to get the care they need. Multiple abortion bans introduced during the 2022 Legislative Session were blocked with help from Nebraskans turning up to hearings and rallies alongside partnering advocacy organizations.

With your help, the ACLU stands ready to fight back against state level attacks that seek to take these personal decisions away from women and their families and give our government control over the most intimate aspects of our lives.

Our work focuses on a range of issues, including protecting access to affordable contraception, protecting a woman's ability to make personal, private decisions about pregnancy and abortion, and fighting pregnancy discrimination.

The Latest

News & Commentary
Title X

Title X in Nebraska

A few months ago, I visited a family planning clinic in Lincoln and got to know some of my neighbors who use the Title X program. I met a single mom with three kids who works at an assisted living home and who does not have health insurance. She has been going to the clinic for three years and doesn’t know any other doctors she could go to if her clinic loses Title X funding. Title X was established in 1970 and is our nation's signature family planning program which provides grants to healthcare providers who provide well-woman exams, lifesaving cancer screening, STD testing and treatment, and contraception. The federal grants pass through the state budget and go directly to healthcare providers. Title X money cannot be used for abortion-related services or for abortion.
News & Commentary
Text: The last year was a relentless attack on civil rights and civil liberties. Nevertheless, we persisted, we resisted, & we achieved important progress. Thank you.

Thanks to you - 2017 Victory List

The last year was a relentless attack on civil rights and civil liberties emanating from the highest echelons of political power and emboldening state and local leaders to act in ways previously unimaginable. Nevertheless, we persisted, we resisted, and we achieved important progress.
Press Release
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ACLU: Tampons and Pads Are Treated as a Luxury Item by Nebraska Prisons and Jails

Issue Areas: Smart Justice, Reproductive Freedom
News & Commentary
Quote: "I'm a grown woman but this made me feels as embarrassed about my body as if I was an adolescent all over again."

Nebraska’s female prisoners deserve access to basic sanitary necessities. Period.

For more than five years, the female jail population has been the fastest growing correctional population in the United States. In Nebraska, the number of women in jail or prison is also on the rise. Yet jails and prisons often fail to address the unique needs of women in these facilities.