Thread by @emfundertaker

Alright, we're going all in on the Twitter threads I've written but never posted and starting with:
Why does @NebraskaMegan keep telling everyone we aren't safe on an abortion ban despite what people keep calling a Filibuster-Proof Majority in the Nebraska Legislature.

From the top -
Everyone saying we have a filibuster-proof majority in the Nebraska Legislature so Don't Worry about Abortion needs to stop.
Right now.

To protect abortion access in Nebraska, I want you to understand our goal.
No Bans.
No Exceptions.
No Compromises.

There is no room for negotiation when it comes to our basic rights.

It should once again be noted at the top that NEBRASKA ALREADY HAS AN ABORTION BAN, and that Nebraskans are *already being hurt by our ban*
Here’s a helpful fact sheet (emphasis on Facts) to describe our current restrictions: guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/sta…

We did, in fact, defeat a trigger ban last session. LB933 failed to overcome a filibuster by 2 votes.
Rich Pahls was ill (likely vote for 933)
Steve Lathrop was absent (likely vote against 933)
Justin Wayne was absent (1 vote up in the air).

It should be obvious that defeating an abortion ban by 2 votes is both incredible *and* terrifying. It should be noted, too, that our filibuster proof majority did not include all Democrats - Mike McDonnell voted for LB933 and has been staunchly anti-abortion.

And now we have ⅓ of a new Legislature, and the trend over the last few years has been for the body to be less reasonable, less reachable - and, on the face of it, more hardline in extreme views.

What this means is that in the past, there were a small group of otherwise anti-abortion lawmakers who were smart enough to understand the devastating implications of more draconian bans and who, therefore, better understood how much further restrictions could hurt Nebraskans.

That possible group is seeming ever more a relic of a bygone era.

So.
Here’s the problem with our so-called filibuster-proof majority when it comes to further restrictions on abortion:
The destructive allure of “compromise”, and friends who will vote with us on most everything else EXCEPT abortion.

There are genuine anti-abortion extremists in the Legislature. Folks who view this not as our regular battle over taxes or government assistance, but folks who genuinely believe this is some Medieval-era battle for human souls.

Folks who hate women, who put Life of the Mother in air quotes while discussing how to pass an abortion ban, who smirk at each other when IVF comes up, who couldn't care less if a woman dies in the process of giving birth because this is God's will.

And there are folks who are maybe less extreme, but have used anti-abortion talking points as a way to get elected and who believe it to varying degrees.

And there are folks who are perhaps genuinely conflicted by the idea that "Well I personally don't believe in abortion and don't think people should get them, but I also don't think the government should be involved, but also I have to decide" and this is one dangerous place

And those folks include some in the so-called Filibuster-Proof Majority

There are also folks in the Legislature who will use this issue to trade votes and gain power for something else. Who will use their silence on the issue, the fact that they haven't taken a stance, as a way to get a Committee chair or pass something else.

Add into all of this that the anti-abortion side does not have a consensus on what they will try to do next session.

We saw this in the election cycle - candidates endorsed by Nebraska Right to Life walking back their extreme stances to appeal to voters who they know aren't as extreme as that group.

So you will likely have the Total Ban (maybe with exceptions) anti-abortion team.
You will have the 6-week ban (with exceptions) anti-abortion team.
You will have the 12-week/15-week/16-week ban (with exceptions) anti-abortion team.

And what this means is that in the Grand Scheme of Things, there WILL be Senators who voted (or would have) against LB933 who will feel they have been presented with a “choice”: vote for further restrictions, or lose on a vote for a Total Ban.

They will feel backed into a corner, and they will feel like this is the best they can do. “A 16-week ban with exceptions for life of the mother, rape, and incest is better than a 6-week ban with exceptions, or even a total ban”.

I want you to know that this happens all the time.
But this is not just any other policy, any other legislative bill.
And this is not the world it was even last session.

We will be trapped in the myth of “Reasonable Exceptions” or “Reasonable Bans”, when the truth is - we *already* have a ban, and no matter what anti-abortion folks say, whatever they do this next session Will Not Be The End.

Because it has never been the end. The only acceptable End is a total ban. The only acceptable End is no birth control, no comprehensive sex ed, no control over our own bodies. The end goal is government-mandated pregnancy.

“Oh Erin, now you’re the one being unreasonable!”
But I’m not - the anti-abortion machine has been saying for decades that “We don’t just want to make abortion illegal, we want to make it unthinkable.”

So here we are in Nebraska.
We defeated LB933 because of brave Senators, and because of YOU.
We stopped a Special Session because of brave Senators, and because of YOU.

And we are heading into the legislative session where there will be an abortion ban (or multiple) introduced.
We are heading into that session with a better chance of defeating any ban because of brave Senators, brave candidates, and because of YOU.

But voting for pro-abortion candidates who will hold the line on a ban isn’t enough when so much is at stake and when too few of our Senators are truly dedicated to the only possibility of protecting abortion access in Nebraska -
No Bans. No Exceptions. No Compromises.

Our fight to control our own bodies cannot compromise, and we won’t.
The only way to win is to defeat *any* further ban, no matter how “reasonable” it sounds. I cannot stress this enough.
Senators will be presented with a compromise, and they might.

So we can't sleep on this.
We cannot count on a so-called Filibuster-Proof Majority on defeating another abortion ban without YOUR help.

And what's more, we cannot say "Well if it we lose in the Legislature there are other options so I'll just wait for that" because here's the thing -
We Can Stop It In the Legislature.
But it's going to take all of us.

You are going to have to hold your Senators accountable.
You are going to have to demand from some that they hold the line.
From others, you will have to demand that they See, Truly See, what another ban will mean.

You will have to tell them, now, where you stand. Tell them that you're watching. Metaphorically grab their ears and force them to hear.

We cannot sleep on this.
We cannot wait for another opportunity down the line to "fix" what could be stopped now.

And if you haven't already, Sign Up to Show Up at NebraskansForAbortionAccess.Com

Going to conclude this with a random story.

I told my drum teacher the other day that I didn't need to learn to read music because Dave Grohl doesn't read music and he said (bless him), "Erin, when you show up to lessons playing like Dave Grohl, I won't ask you to read music"
And that's what this is like.

We aren't at the finish line. We need to keep showing up, we need to keep learning, we need to keep being dedicated to this effort.

Okay.
We can do this.
Let's do this.