Pillen Signs Anti-Abortion Executive Order

LINCOLN, Neb. – Today, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Department of Health and Human Services CEO Steve Corsi and Attorney General Mike Hilgers gathered to announce a new executive order targeting health care clinics that provide abortion care.

The order directs DHHS to review and remove any clinics that have been dropped from Medicaid in other states from Nebraska’s program. Pillen explained the intent is to defund Planned Parenthood centers in Nebraska by preventing Medicaid payments for covered care such as birth control, cancer screenings, and other health services. State and federal law already prohibit using Medicaid dollars to cover abortion care with limited exceptions.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling connected to South Carolina removing Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider. The court found Medicaid patients do not have a right to sue to enforce their right to a qualified health care provider of choice under the Medicaid statute.

Pillen's executive order essentially doubles down on Congress’ vote following that decision, which blocked patients from using Medicaid to pay for care at health centers that provide abortion care. That provision of the budget reconciliation package was challenged, and while it was initially blocked by the courts, a federal appeals court lifted the injunction in September. Since then, Planned Parenthood has not billed Medicaid for any services provided in Nebraska.

American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska Executive Director Mindy Rush Chipman made this statement:

"Governor Pillen has made it very clear what his goals are: pushing access to care out of reach and making decisions that belong to patients and their trusted providers. The reality is that this relentless push to defund clinics is going to threaten not just access to abortion care that Nebraskans need, but also birth control, cancer screenings, STI prevention, detection and treatment, and more. The bottom line is that this has everything to do with forcing beliefs on others and nothing to do with health care. Nebraskans deserve the freedom to get needed care from providers they trust.”

Abortion is banned in Nebraska after 12 weeks of pregnancy except in cases where the patient’s life is in danger or they are facing a significant risk of bodily harm. There are also exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.