Left-wing organizations and activists are aiming to create a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access in Nevada, according to multiple reports.
The organizations that are the forefront of the movement include abortion behemoth Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The groups filed a petition with Nevada’s Secretary of State on Thursday to get a question on the ballot for the proposed amendment.
@NV4ReproFreedom filed a petition to appear on the 2024 ballot! The majority of Nevadans agree that #reproductivefreedom is a fundamental right. It’s time to make it official.
— ACLU of Nevada (@ACLUNV) September 14, 2023
The effort is led by a coalition that includes @PPVotesNevada, @NARALNV, and the ACLU of Nevada. pic.twitter.com/EoGma3GE9f
New: Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom announces they've filed a petition for the 2024 ballot to protect reproductive rights in the state constitution.
— Sean Golonka (@s_golonka) September 14, 2023
This accelerates efforts from the legislative session earlier this year, which would land a similar question on the 2026 ballot pic.twitter.com/GiFnTIsCTa
Now, the pro-abortion supporters will have to garner 103,000 signatures from registered voters by June 26 to get the proposed amendment on the ballot.
“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,” Lindsey Harmon, executive director for Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada, said in a statement.
Right now, Nevada allows abortion through 24 weeks of pregnancy. This is extreme compared to many states that enacted protections for the unborn after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Many states protected life by passing laws that banned abortion after fetal heartbeat detection.
“The right of an individual to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, burdened or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling State interest that is achieved by the least restrictive means available,” the new proposal reportedly states.
Pro-abortion supporters are currently implementing a similar approach in other battleground states, like Ohio and Arizona. Ohio’s proposed amendment would enshrine abortion access and access to transgender care in the state’s constitution.
“This extreme anti-life, anti-parent amendment from the ACLU provides no protections for the preborn through all nine months of pregnancy and attacks a parent's right even to know if their child is seeking an abortion or gender surgery,” Peter Range, the chief executive of Ohio Right to Life, said in a statement.