Judge Rejects Nevada Ballot Initiative Seeking to Codify Abortion

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A Nevada judge has rejected a 2024 ballot initiative aimed at codifying the right to abortion in the state’s constitution, deeming the proposal was breaking state law.

In a decision issued last week, Carson City District Judge James Russell sided with the Coalition for Parents and Children PAC on Tuesday. The PAC had filed a lawsuit earlier this month, asserting that the abortion initiative violated Nevada state law.

Judge Russell dismissed the ballot initiative seeking to establish a State Constitutional Amendment, asserting a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” He determined that the proposed measure engaged in “log rolling” by encompassing a broad range of topics, including abortion, birth control, prenatal care, and postpartum care.

According to the judge, this violated state law by incorporating more than one subject on a petition.

“Again, it is clear to me this is probably the clearest case I have seen that I think there is a violation of the single subject rule,” the judge stated.

The judge also expressed concern about subsection 3 of the petition, which sought to prevent the government from penalizing individuals based on the “actual, potential, perceived, or alleged outcome of the pregnancy, including, but not limited to, a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.”

“This section of the Petition would essentially bar the State from making any investigation of a miscarriage or stillbirth. It is unclear how this provision functionally relates to postpartum care, birth control, tubal ligation, vasectomies, and infertility care,” the judge added.

On Monday, the Coalition for Parents and Children PAC issued a statement expressing their celebration of the ruling.

“We are optimistic about the ballot initiative as a whole, and you know, we plan to appeal this,” stated Lindsey Harmon, the attorney representing Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom. “And we know that in fact, these are all a single subject.”

In the event that the Nevada Supreme Court rejects the appeal from Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, advocates for abortion rights in the state could still gather over 100,000 signatures by July 8 to compel the inclusion of the issue on the ballot for Election Day in 2024.

The petition aims to codify Article 1 of the Nevada Constitution, stipulating that “every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including, without limitation, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, vasectomy, tubal ligation, abortion, abortion care, management of a miscarriage and infertility care.”

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