Nevadans For Reproductive Freedom
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Reno, NV — Today, Carson City District Court Judge James Russell ruled against radical anti-abortion activists and their latest attempt to prevent a proposed reproductive rights constitutional amendment from appearing on Nevada’s 2024 general election ballot. Today’s ruling found that the petition filed by Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom on December 6, 2023 meets statutory requirements and can move forward for signature gathering. An initial version of the petition filed last September is under review by the Nevada Supreme Court.
Lindsey Harmon, President of Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, made the following statement:
“Today’s ruling ensures Nevadans will have the opportunity to establish a permanent state constitutional right to abortion this November. However, abortion rights are not the only form of reproductive freedom under attack across the country. Protecting miscarriage management, birth control, prenatal and postpartum care, and other vital reproductive health care services are inextricably linked pieces of a singular right to reproductive freedom. With this in mind, we remain confident that the Nevada Supreme Court will recognize that our initial petition meets all requirements under Nevada law and will quickly issue a favorable ruling on our pending appeal.”
Background on Abortion Protections in Nevada:
A 1990 voter referendum codified the protections for abortion as outlined by Roe v. Wade into state law. However, statutory protections do not mean the right is codified in the state constitution.
The petition initiative to enshrine reproductive freedom into the Nevada constitution seeks to build upon and improve existing statutory protections while taking into account the changing abortion access national landscape after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in the summer of 2022.
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Nevadans For Reproductive Freedom is a campaign united to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom into the Nevada constitution. We are comprised of a coalition of progressive organizations and citizens who believe that in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, Nevadans must take the final step of cementing into the state’s constitution the right to abortion, birth control, prenatal, birth, and postpartum care, tubal ligation, vasectomy, and infertility care.