The Nebraska Women’s Bill of Rights: An Interpretive Policy Analysis
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Authors
Zagurski, Cleo
Issue Date
2025-12
Volume
10
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
During the 2023 Nebraska legislative session, Legislative Bill 574 (LB574), the “Let Them Grow Act,” was passed, banning gender-affirming care for minors and surgical abortion after 12 weeks. This law was followed by an executive order titled “The Women’s Bill of Rights,” defining various gender and sex-related terms that were used in LB574. Introduced by Governor Jim Pillen in August 2023, the primary artifact had a goal of preserving “female-only” spaces such as locker rooms and sporting teams. National and historic trends of power, minimizing rights of the marginalized, and alt-right policies have been exemplified through the policy situation related to the primary artifact. General criticism via interpretive policy analysis was used to analyze the Women’s Bill of Rights and other secondary artifacts. I analyzed the language used in this artifact and its implications in the currently open policy window. Various linguistic themes, such as biased definitions related to race and identity, utilized to further push non-cisgender men to the margins, are identified. Gender has been defined strictly along the binary, which directly impacts noncisgender people. The constructed issues of defining gender and transgender rights are identified. The polarization of the Nebraska legislature and the timing of the publishing of the primary artifact culminated in a successful political situation for the primary rhetor. The implementation of the primary artifact is currently being discussed within the Nebraska Department of Human Health Services. State-funded data collection, schools, and prisons are direct avenues of blocking and affirming efforts to the primary artifact. Future implications include local, state, and national-level policies related to autonomy, gender, and marginalized populations. Other concerns related to policy development, the polarization of Nebraska’s unicameral, and the act of defining by a non-expert warrant further investigation.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Creighton University
License
This material is copyrighted