Ordinance outlawing abortion fails in southern Nebraska town
CURTIS, Neb. (KNOP) - On Wednesday the City Council of Curtis, Nebraska considered the third and final reading of an ordinance that would make performing an abortion or aiding and abetting an abortion illegal within their city limits. On the third and final vote, only one council member was in favor of the ordinance. Officially, the ordinance died for a lack of a second to Councilman Joel Chancellor’s motion to pass the ordinance on the third and final reading.
Before the vote, and before many in attendance spoke during public comment, Curtis City Attorney Jon Schroeder shared his findings with the city council. Prior to the meeting, Schroeder had reached out to G. Michael Fenner, Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law at Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, seeking to obtain a legal opinion on the constitutionality of the ordinance. In response, Professor Fenner wrote a letter to Schroeder taking the position the ordinance was unconstitutional and in violation of “the core holding of Roe v. Wade, that there is a right to an abortion.” In his letter, Fenner wrote, “As individuals, we may not like abortion, we may think it is wrong, and we may believe that Roe v. Wade is bad law. But it is the law.”
In addition to Fenner’s letter, Schroeder pointed out the statements which were made in Sunday’s edition of the Omaha World-Herald which quoted the views of several law professors on the constitutionality of the ordinances. One view given was that of Law, Professor Eric Beger, with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Berger claimed to outlaw abortion was “clearly unconstitutional” but argued that “If the Court were to overrule Roe and Casey, then a local ordinance outlawing abortion would not violate the U.S. Constitution.” In the same article Law Professor Anthony Schutz, who was highly praised by Schroeder, called the enforceability of the proposed ordinance “far-fetched” claiming that cities like Curtis lack the authority to regulate abortion.
In the end, Schroeder cast his support behind the voices like Fenner and Schutz recommending against the proposed ordinance on grounds that it was unconstitutional and that it could open up the city for costly litigation.
Councilman Jerrod Burke, who was the most vocal against the ordinance, shared,
