Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom
For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 14, 2023
Reno, NV — Today, Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom filed for a petition initiative to put the right to reproductive freedom on the ballot for Nevadans in 2024. The effort seeks to give Nevada voters an opportunity to codify their fundamental right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution after the loss of federal abortion protections in the summer of 2022. Advocates of the effort must collect 103,000 signatures by June 2024 in order to qualify for the ballot in November 2024. If passed next year by voters, the measure would automatically appear again on the 2026 general election ballot for final passage.
The effort is led by a coalition that includes Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada, NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada, and the ACLU of Nevada as founding members.
Lindsey Harmon, Executive Director for Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada said:
“The urgency of this moment in our nation’s history demands immediate action from us all. Abortion rights and access in this country are in peril like never before despite the fact that the broad majority of Americans support abortion rights. The fallout of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade has shown us that we have already suffered one year too long without the guaranteed right to reproductive freedom, and we simply cannot afford to stand by and allow any further encroachment on the fundamental right of Nevadans to determine their own reproductive lives and care.”
Caroline Mello Roberson, Director of State Campaigns for NARAL Pro-Choice America said:
“When the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion care, it permanently altered the landscape for access across the country. Now, state-level protections like those we have in Nevada are being tested like never before. Anti-abortion extremists are more determined than ever to end abortion access, and we cannot and will not allow their dangerous vision for Nevada to become a reality. Locking the right to abortion into our state constitution will help us expand access to abortion care and ensure care remains an option for all who need it in our state and those who have to travel here to access it. NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada and our 48,000 members are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work alongside our partners in the Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom campaign to pass this important initiative.”
West Juhl, director of communications and campaigns for the ACLU of Nevada said:
“Since the shameful overturning of Roe v. Wade, it has become clear that the work in Nevada is about holding the line to protect our access to abortion care and about making sure that everyone can get the care that they need. We’re proud to be a part of the Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom campaign and to fight for greater equity and justice.”
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.