Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers asked a Lancaster County District Court judge to reject a request to block the enforcement of restrictions on gender-affirming care and abortions after 12 weeks.
In a court filing late Tuesday, Hilgers asked Judge Lori Maret to reject a temporary injunction while a lawsuit seeking to overturn LB574 — a bill containing both provisions — goes through the legal process.
Hours earlier, the ACLU of Nebraska, on behalf of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and Dr. Sarah Traxler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States, filed the suit alleging the Legislature violated the state constitution's single-subject rule when it voted to combine the two measures.
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Mindy Rush Chipman, interim executive director of the ACLU of Nebraska, said the process used by state lawmakers circumvented legislative guardrails and the state constitution itself, and the suit sought a temporary injunction to stop it from going into effect.
Hilgers, in a response, said the ACLU of Nebraska and Planned Parenthood did not meet the criteria needed for a temporary restraining order from being issued, and he argued their lawsuit was not likely to succeed on their merits.
The attorney general also said no Nebraska court has ever found that the Legislature violated the single-subject rule, and that they could not demonstrate an immediate and irreparable harm "that such an extraordinary action against the State is not just recommended, but required."
"These questions are appropriate for a hearing on Preliminary Injunction where all parties have an opportunity to be heard and present evidence," Hilgers wrote.
Maret has not ruled on the ACLU of Nebraska's request.