Abortion rights backers file to get on 2024 Nevada ballot

A coalition of abortion rights groups is hoping to solidify access to abortion in Nevada with a constitutional amendment proposed on the 2024 ballot.

The organizations, which include Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada, filed a petition with Nevada’s secretary of state office Thursday to get a ballot question about enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year.

“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.

The coalition would need to collect signatures from 103,000 registered voters to get the proposed amendment on the ballot by June 26. If the proposal is approved by voters next year, it will automatically be placed on the 2026 ballot for final approval before being enacted.

Under current Nevada law, anyone can receive an abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. A voter referendum in 1990 codified the abortion protections covered by Roe v. Wade, but that right is not codified in the state constitution, the announcement reads.

The new proposal builds on the current abortion protection in Nevada and states that everyone “has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy.”

“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 reads.

It also will bar anyone who provides abortions and who aids someone in receiving an abortion from being penalized or prosecuted, according to the proposal.

“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,” West Juhl, director of communications and campaigns for the ACLU of Nevada, said in a statement.