The keynote speaker last night was our old friend and pro-life colleague Greg Schleppenbach who had returned to Nebraska from the D.C. area where he now serves as CEO of the Culture Project. A Nebraska native, Greg had previously served the Nebraska Catholic Conference for 25 years and so it was nice to have him come home and celebrate with us the defeat of Amendment 439. Yes, last night was a celebration. And yet Greg and the other presenters sharply reminded us of the awesome work yet before us. The movement to build a culture of life means the changing of untold numbers of minds on abortion. Greg reminded us, however, that the “upstream” culture issues of sexuality, marriage, and family must be priority areas for us. It was an excellent call to arms. Thank you, Greg
Our gratitude also goes to all the other dedicated pro-life servants who made-up the program: Nebraska’s Catholic Bishops (George Lucas, James Conley, and our longtime ally Joseph Hanefeldt), the NCC’s Tom Venzor and Marion Minor; and the winner of last night’s Gospel of Life award, Nikki Shasserre. It was an enlightening and very inspirational evening.
A big delight in these things, of course, is the chance to check in (however briefly) with dear friends and pro-life partners from around the state. Last night we saw several: Sandy Danek, Nate Grasz, Chip Maxwell, Rich and Barb McPhillips, Jim and Suzanne Gage, Julie Lostroh, John Horsechief, Dennis Waggoner, Karen Bowling, and John and Mary Zak.
Okay, now for a few of those notes I jotted down from last night’s conversations and program.
* Nebraska's pro-life victory was a rare one in the post-Dobbs era. And the strategy that Nebraska pro-life leaders selected; namely, to present voters with an alternative to the abortion extremism that had previously captured so many other states, proved to be ultimately successful. Seven states had already fallen to the lies and big money of the abortionists. Several more fell in the elections. True, one of the other states that did hold off the abortion industry was Florida. Congratulations, guys. And thank you, Governor DeSantis. However, it must also be noted that the percentage of the vote required to put an unlimited abortion amendment into the state’s Constitution was 60%, not the mere 50% here in the Cornhusker state. So, how many Floridians voted for abortion? 57%! You see how things would have worked out had Nebraska not utilized an alternative amendment strategy? Again, thank You, Lord, for all needed mercies!
We were also reminded last night just how hard the climb has been here in Nebraska to pass any pro-life legislation at all. For instance, Ernie Chambers and his abortion-friendly pals over the years (not to mention the help he received from RINOs) were able to block any pro-life measures at all for a seven year stretch. Taking into account such a history with the deep research pro-life experts did into the opinions of current Nebraskans (It turns out we are not nearly as pro-life a state as we thought.) underscores just how far afield from reality are the arguments being made by pro-life abolitionists/absolutists who insist that a majority of Nebraskans would support a ban on all abortions, including those induced by chemical poisons. No, the strategy devised by the NCC, NRL, NFA, and others proved to be the best pro-life option.
By the way, that seven year drought was broken by the pro-life license plate bill. And, for those of you who thought that wasn’t a very important win, ask yourselves why the left fought it so savagely...including throwing a strident 12-hour filibuster against it. And, with that pro-life victory, the dam began to break and Nebraska’s pro-lifers have since then secured many limitations on abortion as well as winning measures that help moms and babies.
Every speaker last night gave glory to God for this victory even as they humbly pointed to the heroic efforts of all of the local pro-life warriors around the state whose dedication and perseverance defeated 439. Among all of these folks, however, we must make sure we’re expressing the gratitude due the Ricketts family who donated such an awful lot of financial help to the effort, as well as the female student-athletes who presented such a winsome and profoundly effective pro-life ad.
