The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, concluding that petition language filed in September 2023 to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom into the state constitution meets Nevada’s legal requirements for a ballot measure.
Specifically, the court ruled that the petition does not violate the state’s single-subject rule and the petition does not create an unfunded mandate on the state.
While legal proceedings have been underway, Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom have gathered more than 160,000 signatures in support of a second version of the initiative to codify abortion protections in the state constitution. The campaign intends to submit the second petition to the Nevada Secretary of State and is well ahead of schedule to qualify it for the 2024 ballot.
Lindsey Harmon, President of Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, made the following statement:
“Today’s ruling is an unequivocal recognition of what we’ve always known to be true: The right to reproductive freedom includes all aspects of a person’s reproductive health care. Protecting these rights is essential to ensuring that all Nevadans maintain full control over their own lives, especially as we continue to see attacks on abortion, IVF, birth control, and other reproductive health services. While we have decided to pursue a petition focused on protecting abortion rights specifically, we will continue to pursue every possible avenue to make sure that all vital reproductive health services are protected in our state’s laws.”
Coalition for Parents and Children released this statement:
"We are disappointed with the Court’s decision. The Court has transformed the single-subject rule into the single-category rule, which will open the floodgates to broad and deceptive initiative proposals like the one at issue in this case. My clients will now focus on educating the voters on why this proposal is bad law and policy for Nevadans."
Abortion rights up to 24 weeks are already codified into Nevada law through a 1990 referendum vote, where two-thirds of voters were in favor. That can be changed with another referendum vote.
The standards are higher for amending the constitution, which requires either approval from two legislative sessions and an election, or two consecutive elections with a simple majority of votes.
Abortion rights have become a mobilizing issue for Democrats since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 court decision establishing a nationwide right to abortion.
Lawmakers in Nevada’s Democratic-controlled Legislature are also attempting to get reproductive rights including abortion access in front of voters on the 2026 ballot. The initiative, which would enshrine those rights in the state constitution, passed the state Senate and Assembly in May 2023 and now must be approved with a simple majority again in 2025 before being eligible for the 2026 ballot.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
