On September 1st, 2021, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, signed into law one of the nation’s strictest abortion ban, prohibiting the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
This ban allows any private person to conduct a civil lawsuit against any “aid” in an abortion considered illegal. Additionally, Six weeks into pregnancy is far earlier than most women know they are pregnant. To add on, this law does not make any exceptions for unplanned or unwanted pregnancies by either rape or incest. A father could now legally rape his daughter and collect $10,000 from her if she tries to abort the baby after six weeks. Two students here at East gave their input on this topic.

First, 15-year-old sophomore Tyson Broeker. When asked about his standpoint on abortion, he stated, “It’s not my body, so it’s not my choice.” His opinion on the law’s ethics is inconclusive– “I don’t know.” As for how it will affect our community in Lincoln, he stated, “The law could spread to us. Look at weed, it was legal in one place and now it’s legal all over America.” He also said his reaction to Nebraska potentially passing this law would be negative, “I’d be pretty upset. However I can’t say much.”

The second interview subject was another 15-year-old sophomore, Dylan Erickson. He was asked for his standpoint on abortion as well.

“I think it’s okay,” Erickson said. “It should be allowed to be done safely.” When asked if he thought the law was morally right, he simply said “No.” After this, Erickson explained how this may affect us in Lincoln.

“We might see more fighting for reproductive rights,” he said. This is similar to Broeker’s statement, although this was more about ‘fighting’ for rights, instead of those rights happening.
Lastly, he expressed his potential reaction if Nebraska passed this law.

“I’d be protesting,” Erickson firmly stated.

Many people have already protested this law, resulting in a lawsuit filed against it as of September 9th. One should keep an eye out for what will happen next, as this issue is not yet settled.