Nebraska Resurrects 'Justifiable Homicide' Abortion Bill

A state legislator pushes a bill that's even more sweeping than the South Dakota proposal that sparked a national controversy.

— By Nick Baumann and Daniel Schulman

Just when abortion rights supporters thought they had beaten a controversial bill they believe would legalize the killing of abortion providers, it has cropped up again—this time in a more expansive form that has drawn the concern of law enforcement officials.

Last week, South Dakota's legislature shelved a bill, introduced by Republican state Rep. Phil Jensen, which would have allowed the use of the "justifiable homicide" defense for killings intended to prevent harm to a fetus. Now a nearly identical bill is being considered in neighboring Nebraska, where on Wednesday the state legislature held a hearing on the measure.

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