Anti-Abortion Groups React to Uptick in Abortion Numbers: ‘Destination State’

by Ken Shepherd

(Picture credit: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services)

Abortions in Nebraska have reached their highest number since 2022, the year that the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, with conservative groups saying that the state data shows Nebraska is proving to be a “destination state” for ending unborn life.

While 2023 saw a drop to 2,325 from the prior year’s 2,547, the number has been climbing since, with 2,501 reported in 2024 and 2,698 reported in 2025.

According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services abortion data dashboard, most non-resident women who received abortions in 2025 hailed from neighboring Iowa, which, unlike Nebraska, has a heartbeat law on its books banning most abortions after six weeks into a pregnancy.

Nebraska state law, by contrast, protects abortion access in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Also notable from 2025 state data is the vast majority of reported abortions being conducted for non-medical reasons, with just under 80 percent of the 2,698 reported abortions in Nebraska attribute to “socioeconomic” reasons, contrasted with only 23 cases for concern of “maternal life endangered.” Only 15 cases cited sexual assault and none cited incest.

“This is a tragic report. Behind every number is a human being, a baby boy or girl who should have been protected, but wasn’t,” Nebraska Family Alliance executive director Nate Grasz said in a statement to The Plains Sentinel.

“Fewer Nebraska residents sought abortion in 2025, but a large increase in Iowa residents shows Nebraska is becoming a destination state for abortion, as neighboring states have made more progress to protect women and children from abortion,” he added.

“Lawmakers must act, and the next election will be critical as we work to find more effective ways to combat the lies of the abortion industry, increase support and care for women and families, and advance life-saving laws. A mother’s womb should be the safest place in the world for a preborn baby, and that should be as true in Nebraska as it is anywhere,” Grasz added.

According to the website AbortionFinder.org, Nebraska has only two clinics that provide abortion services, with just one, Planned Parenthood Omaha Health Center, providing surgical abortions up until the 12-week limit permitted under state law.

The state’s other provider, CARE Reproductive Health Bellevue, provides only medicinal abortion services, the most common method of ending a pregnancy, with the state abortion data dashboard showing some 83% of reported abortions were medicinally induced.

A bill sponsored by Republican State Sen. Rick Holdcroft to tighten regulation of medicinal abortions, Legislative Bill 512, the Chemical Abortion Safety Protocol Act, failed to pass through the legislature this session. The Plains Sentinel reached out to Holdcroft for comment for this story but did not receive a response by publication deadline.

“The statistics give us real insight on what’s happening…. We’re seeing a continuous uptick of the chemical abortion drugs. That is most concerning to us,” Nebraska Right to Life executive director Sandy Danek told The Plains Sentinel in a phone interview.

Danek added that her organization has been pressing both Nebraska health officials “as well as the Trump administration to do what they need to do to institute… safeguards that were in place before the Biden administration took [them] from us.”

Beyond regulatory action, however, Danek said it was important for voters to elect state lawmakers who will build on progress from previous incremental gains in protections for the unborn.

“With the passage of Initiative 434 in 2024, Nebraska offers protection for unborn babies in the second and third trimesters. This is significant because Nebraska is the first state in the country to pass a constitutional amendment of its kind,” Danek said. “However,” she added, “this creates a gap in protection for the unborn in the first trimester. We must rely on the Nebraska Legislature to pass protections for the majority of abortions performed in the state—those in the first trimester or the first 12 weeks.”

“It is why Nebraska Right to Life PAC has actively recruited, surveyed and endorsed pro-life candidates around the state, focusing on legislative seats,” Danek said.

For his part, Grasz acknowledged there are significant challenges lying ahead for the pro-life community in the current political climate.

“We have had great pro-life champions in our legislature working to defend life, but we need more,” Grasz told The Plains Sentinel.

“Last year, a common-sense bill (LB669) to ensure abortion clinics actually screen for signs of abuse, coercion, and trafficking and provide resources and assistance to women in abusive situations before performing an abortion failed because of a filibuster by Democrat senators. Protecting women and children from the harms of abortion shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Every child deserves a chance, and we won’t quit working to advance policies that affirm and protect the dignity, value, and humanity of pre-born children,” Grasz added.

The Plains Sentinel reached out to Planned Parenthood North Central States and Nebraska Abortion Resources for comment for this story but did not receive responses by publication deadline.

Ken Shepherd is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel. He is a former editor at Fox News Digital and the Washington Times.