LINCOLN, NE - Thomas More Society attorney Matt Heffron testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee last week, exposing what he called “a stunning pattern of inaction” by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in response to substantial credible evidence of ongoing violations of state law at Nebraska abortion clinics. The hearing was organized and led by Senator Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, the location of the notorious Carhart abortion clinic.

Heffron’s testimony followed a detailed 21-page complaint submitted to DHHS in May 2024, where he outlined extensive evidence of illegal practices at the Carhart clinic including unlicensed abortions, dispensing of dangerous drugs without proper authorization, and repeated false statements to regulators.

“DHHS was handed detailed violations complete with dates, witnesses, and documentary proof and yet it has done virtually nothing to investigate or solve these serious problems,” said Matt Heffron, Senior Counsel at Thomas More Society. “In one instance, the agency documented 229 separate violations of state law in just three months and then closed the investigation three days later without penalties. That’s not enforcement. That’s abandonment of duty.”

The violations included evidence that abortions were performed on multiple occasions without a Nebraska-licensed physician present and that the clinic dispensed abortion-inducing drugs without a required Dispensing Practitioner Pharmacy License. Despite these findings, DHHS merely accepted repeated “Statements of Compliance” from the clinic even after the same violations recurred almost immediately.

Since the May 2024 complaint, the Thomas More Society followed up with a number of other efforts to prompt some sort of effort by DHHS. (See e.g., letter of October 25, 2024.)

“This is not a question of insufficient law. It’s a question of insufficient enforcement,” Heffron testified. “DHHS has the evidence and the authority but apparently lacks the will. Nebraskans should not have to accept a two-tiered system of justice where abortion clinics are effectively exempt from the laws.”

Heffron urged legislators to enact reforms to ensure DHHS accountability and to mandate enforcement action when evidence of lawbreaking is presented.

For some years, clients of Thomas More Society have complained to attorneys that similar disregard for enforcing pro-life laws is often occurring in other pro-life states. This effort in Nebraska is expected to be first, with others to follow.