LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Republican U.S. Senate nominee Sam Brown has shifted his position on abortion, but an ad by incumbent U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen attacking Brown on the issue is only "half true," according to PolitiFact.
The ad targets Brown, accusing him of pushing to ban abortion, overturn Roe v. Wade and adopt a ban on abortion without exceptions.
"MAGA extremist Sam Brown will take away abortion rights in Nevada," the ad says.
But the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based PolitiFact investigated the ad, labeling it just "half-true" because of a lack of context.
"We use that rating when a statement is partially accurate but it's being selective, and it's omitting a significant part of the story that voters need to know," said Katie Sanders, PolitiFact's editor-in-chief. "And that fits the case for what Rosen did in this ad."
Channel 13 has partnered with PolitiFact to separate truth from fiction in political ads during the 2024 election cycle.
First, let's look at what's true:
- Brown, who was living in Texas and ran for office there in 2014, did support a restrictive abortion law in that state, years before the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. That law would have banned abortion after 20 weeks with no exceptions.
- In a candidate forum during that election, Brown did say, "On issues of life, that is non-negotiable for me."
- Brown's campaign filled out a survey issued by the American Families Association, which asked under what circumstances abortion should be allowed. "Risk to life of the mother," the campaign wrote. (Brown later distanced himself from that answer, saying a campaign staffer wrote it and that he had not authorized the answer.)
- Brown was chairman of the Nevada Faith and Freedom Coalition, a nonprofit faith advocacy group that supports limiting abortion.
Starting in 2023, Brown has changed his stance. In an interview in July 2023, the day he launched his Senate campaign, he told a Reno-based reporter that while he was pro-life, he believed in exceptions to abortion laws for rape, incest and to save the life of a mother.
Brown reiterated those exceptions in an NBC News interview in which his wife, Amy Brown, frankly discussed her own decision to have an abortion in the years before she met Sam Brown. In that same interview, Sam Brown said he would not support a federal ban on abortion, preferring states to make their own laws.
But, PolitiFact concluded, advocating for states to make their own decisions on regulating abortion necessarily means embracing the idea that some states might adopt abortion restrictions without the exceptions that Brown now says he supports.
And earlier this month, the Nevada Independent reported on a leaked audiotape in which Brown said he would oppose a ballot question that would start the process of amending the state constitution to enshrine the right to abortion until a fetus is viable outside the womb.
“I'm not for changing our existing law,” Brown said in the clip obtained by the Independent. “Our existing law has been in place for over 34 years. The ballot measure would change the law and essentially [create] no limit on access to abortion.”
Existing law in Nevada allows abortion for any reason up to 24 weeks of a pregnancy, and thereafter if a doctor deems a mother's life to be in jeopardy. That law was the subject of a referendum in 1990, and was sustained, which means it cannot be changed except by another vote of the people.
Under the constitutional amendment, dubbed Question 6, abortion would become a "fundamental right" in Nevada, and would be allowed "...until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient."
It would not, however, remove all limits on abortion in Nevada, as Brown said in the leaked audio.
If Question 6 passes in November, it must pass again in 2026 to become part of the state constitution.
A note about political ads: Some viewers have written to us, asking why Channel 13 would continue to air ads that PolitiFact labels "half true," "mostly false" or "pants on fire" false. While those ads don't reflect the views of Channel 13, it's employees, management or corporate owners, federal law protects the rights of candidates for political office and political groups to purchase advertising for their views. As long as they do so, we will keep fact-checking.
If you have a question about politics, elections or government, or you have seen an ad you'd like us to check, you can Ask Steve at ktnv.com/asksteve. He will endeavor to answer your questions on air or online.