Monday marked the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The 2022 ruling overturned Roe v. Wade, a nearly 50-year-old law that guaranteed nationwide access to abortion.
Former President Donald Trump appointed the conservative Supreme Court Justices who helped to make the 6-3 ruling.
On Monday, Nevada Democratic leaders, alongside reproductive rights advocates, held a press conference to blast Donald Trump and Republicans for their anti-abortion rights voting records.
"We are hammering on the issue of abortion because it's life or death for women in this state and across the country," said Erica Roth, the Democratic candidate for Nevada Assembly District 24.
After the conservative-held Supreme Court issued the 2022 Dobbs ruling, states began restricting access to abortion.
Nevada's neighboring states, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona, have abortion bans in effect, leading women from those states to travel to Nevada for abortion services.
"30 percent is the number of women out of state who come to Nevada to get abortion services," said Kate Marshall, former Democratic Lt. Governor of Nevada.
The legal disparities among states have not only endangered individuals seeking abortions but also made reproductive care more hazardous.
"Women are being turned away begging for care, and doctors are facing jail time for doing their jobs. The overturning of Roe v. Wade opened the door for not abortion limitations, but for every part of reproductive healthcare, including IVF and birth control," said Briana Escamilla, Planned Parenthood Nevada.
In 1990, the Campaign for Choice led a ballot initiative, Question 7, which established access to abortion up to 24 weeks in state statute. Maggie Tracey, former chair of Campaign for Choice in Nevada, spoke at the press conference.
"34 years ago, I was a young woman. It is unbelievable that I am standing here today. Nevadans from all walks of life, all ages, all religions, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents were out walking the streets to ensure that women would have access to abortions and that women would have choices. That Nevada would continue to value women and the decisions they made about their own bodies,"
Democrats are also using the issue of abortion rights to target down-ballot Republicans.
"Donald Trump, he overturned Roe v Wade, he did that. All the way down to the bottom, whether it's every single legislative Republican voting against the right to IVF last legislative session," said Roth.
Republican Nevada Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant accuses Nevada Democrats of "fear-mongering," stating that access to abortion is already protected in Nevada by the 1990 state statute.
"They are counting on voters to not educated on this subject," said Gallant. "The pro-choice movement knows that 80 percent of Nevadans do not know that abortion is protected up to 24 weeks, and it's a voter initiative. So, nobody from the governor down can change it. No matter who is in office, that decision relies solely on the voters" stated (R-Las Vegas) Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant.
Democrats are claiming that if former president Donald Trump is reelected, he will work to implement a national abortion ban. Karoline Leavitt, Trump's campaign national press secretary, denies the claim.
"President Trump has said on the record multiple times that he is not going to take action at the Federal level to ban abortion, period. He believes that the Dobbs decision was right because it returned the power on this issue back to the people in their respective states. And, so it is up to state legislatures, in all 50 states across this country to determine where their laws land on the issue of abortion, and President Trump is not going to change that," said Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation is the leading organization behind more than 900 page document, Project 2025, that gives a road map of how Donald Trump could conduct his second term in the Oval Office. Within the document, a strategy outlines how the administrtion could the Comstock Act to ban the mailing of abortion pills. In 1873, Congress passed the Comstock Act to ban mailing of obscene matter, which includes abortion materials. In some interpretations of the law, the act could be used to prohibit mailing chemical abortion pills, like mifepristone. Abortion pills account for the majority of abortions in the U.S.
"Why are we talking about abortion so much, because they are making us. Because it doesn't matter what we do or what fight we put off, they pivot. They say you know what, we are going to look at the Comstock Act, we are going to say no woman can't access abortion. That is what they do," said Erica Roth.
However, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says that Project 2025 is not affiliated with the Trump campaign and does not reflect official policy views, positions, or statements of the campaign.
"President Trump is going to protect the rights of individuals to make decisions on the issue of abortion, and he is going to support widespread access to contraception, IVF, and birth control for women as well." said Leavitt.
We contacted Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sam Brown to inquire about his stance on the Dobbs decision two years later, but we have not received a response.
