LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In Nevada, abortion has been legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy for decades. But now, a new measure could come before voters during the November election.
Here’s a brief timeline of significant developments around the abortion issue in the Silver State.
January 1973: The U.S. Supreme Court rules 7-3 in the case of Roe v. Wade, establishing a constitutional right to abortion and overruling state laws restricting the practice.
May 1973: In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, Nevada’s Legislature approves a pro-choice state law that says only licensed physicians may perform abortions during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, or thereafter if the mother’s life is in jeopardy.
1989: The pro-choice group Campaign for Choice – which supported the 1973 law – files a referendum against it. In Nevada, if a statute is challenged and the voters uphold it, it cannot be changed in the future except by another vote of the people. The Campaign for Choice’s tactic has the effect of asking Nevada voters to take a side in the abortion debate.
November 1990: Voters uphold the abortion-rights law, by a vote of 63.5 percent to 36.65 percent.
June 1992: The Supreme Court reaffirms the Roe v. Wade decision in the case of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.
June 2022: The U.S. Supreme Court rules 6-3 in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the Constitution does not provide a right to an abortion, overruling Roe and Planned Parenthood. The ruling allows individual states to regulate abortion, and many pass laws restricting it.
September 2023: Although Nevada’s state law was not affected by the Dobbs ruling, the group Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom files a petition to amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights. The measure would have expanded rights to include prenatal care, childbirth, birth control, abortions and infertility care.
October 2023: A group calling itself the Coalition for Parents and Children sues to prevent the amendment from going forward, arguing it encompasses too many subjects and carries a misleading description of effect. The Carson City District Court agreed, but Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court.
December 2023: Fearing a long legal battle, Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom files a second initiative, with a narrower scope, that seeks to amend the constitution with similar language to the state’s existing statute. This would make it harder to strike down abortion laws in the state, as it takes about five years to amend the state constitution.
April 2024: The state Supreme Court upholds the original petition, saying it can go forward, although Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom is busy gathering signatures on its alternative measure.
May 20, 2024: Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom announces it has collected more than 200,000 signatures for its second petition, nearly twice the 102,362 necessary to qualify the measure. If local election officials find there are enough valid signatures, the measure goes to the ballot in November.
If it passes, it must be approved again in November 2026 to go into effect.
