Nevadans For Reproductive Freedom
For Immediate Release: March 26, 2024
Reno, NV — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. Justices are reviewing a ruling by the Fifth Circuit federal appeals court that would dramatically restrict (but not eliminate altogether) access to mifepristone, a safe and effective drug used in medication abortions.
Medication abortions make up more than half of abortions in the U.S., and mifepristone has been used by millions of patients for more than two decades. Keeping mifepristone available is essential to protecting access to abortion for people across the country. If the Supreme Court upholds the Fifth Circuit’s decision, abortion access will be drastically restricted nationwide, even in states like Nevada where abortion is currently legal.
This attack on a safe and effective medication that has been approved by the FDA for decades is just the latest from anti-abortion extremists dedicated to banning abortion nationwide and denying people the freedom to make their own health care decisions.
Lindsey Harmon, President, Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, said:
“The Supreme Court’s hearing of the mifepristone case, one of two this session that could have major implications for abortion access nationwide, including in states like Nevada, is yet another proofpoint of how urgent the effort to codify abortion into the Nevada constitution is. This is one of many attacks being brought forth by anti-abortion activists, politicians, and judges in the wake of the Dobbs decision, and we are working tirelessly to ensure that abortion access remains protected for generations of Nevadans to come.”
Denise Lopez, Director of Nevada Campaigns for Reproductive Freedom for, said:
“If the U.S. Supreme Court decides to rule in favor of anti-abortion extremists and restrict mifepristone nationwide, it would have catastrophic effects for people in our state who will face more barriers to accessing the care they need. The vast majority of Nevadans — 4 in 5 — support the right to abortion, and any decision rolling back access to this safe and effective medication flies in the face of Nevadans’ values. Nevadans have already spoken up once, voting overwhelmingly to lock abortion rights into law in 1990, and they’re ready to do it again. The Supreme Court must rule against this baseless case.”
West Juhl, Director of Communications and Campaigns, ACLU of Nevada said:
“Yet again we find ourselves bracing for impact against an extremist faction that seeks to chip away from our individual liberty and our right to bodily autonomy. The case against mifepristone is entirely removed from medical and scientific knowledge, but it still threatens to have serious effects on health care for all Americans, including in Nevada. And, it serves as yet further proof that we can’t take any of our rights for granted and that we have to take action to affirm and protect our rights here at home.”
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.
###
Nevadans For Reproductive Freedom is a campaign united to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom into the Nevada constitution. We are 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.