The high court approved a ballot initiative to enshrine the right to "reproductive freedom" in the state Constitution. But the group behind
Reproductive freedom will likely be on the ballot in Nevada this November.
The Nevada Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and issued a decision saying that such a measure has the right to be voted on as an amendment to the Nevada constitution.
Nevada already protects abortion through the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Putting that right in the state constitution will further solidify that right.
The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled in favor of granting ballot access to a broad “reproductive freedom” ballot question seeking to enshrine rights to a wide range of birth control, fertility and abortion options into the state Constitution — though the group supporting the initiative is already moving forward with a proposal more narrowly tailored to abortion access. The 16-page decision released Thursday overturned a lower court’s ruling that said inclusion of topics such as prenatal care, abortions, vasectomies and infertility care under the umbrella of “reproductive rights” within a single ballot question was unconstitutional because the framing was too broad. “[A]ll the medical procedures considered in the initiative petition concern reproduction. To assert that they could not all be addressed together because they are separate procedures is improper,” read the opinion, which was signed by six of seven justices on the court. Justice Patricia Lee recused herself from the case because of a professional conflict of interest. But the ruling will likely not affect the petition’s chances of landing on the November ballot, as the group supporting it — Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom — has said it intends to prioritize collecting signatures on a narrower petition that focuses only on abortion rights. The high court will also rule on the constitutionality of that proposal — which received approval from a lower court judge in January — though Thursday’s opinion indicates that it is almost sure to pass legal muster from the state’s high court.
Like Nevada, New York and Maryland already protect the right to abortion. They too will hold referendums this autumn to place that right in their state constitutions.
Florida is poor on reproductive freedom and is set to get worse; but the passage of Florida Amendment 4 in November could fully restore reproductive freedom in the state now under the repressive rule of Ron DeSantis and his gerrymandered legislative supermajority.
Thanks to the Republican US Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, it's now up to the states to protect reproductive freedom. Placing that right in state constitutions is the highest level of legal protection available.