Nevadans take first step to protecting abortion in state constitution

By Lucia Starbuck, KUNR Public Radio

Published November 6, 2024 at 2:28 AM CST

Abortion rights activists march along Fremont Street Experience as they protest the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade by the US Supreme Court, in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 24, 2022.

This piece originally appeared as part of NPR's live coverage of the 2024 election. For more election coverage from the NPR Network head to our live updates page.

RENO – Abortion is one step closer to being constitutionally protected in Nevada after voters approved a statewide ballot question for the first time, according to the Associated Press. The measure would need to pass again in 2026 to be fully approved.

The proposal would add language to the state constitution guaranteeing the right to an abortion by a qualified health care professional until fetal viability — usually about 24 weeks of pregnancy — and to protect the life of the pregnant person.

Though not constitutionally guaranteed, abortion is already largely protected under Nevada law. In 1990, voters legalized abortions under state law until the 24th week of pregnancy or later if a physician believes it will preserve the pregnant person’s life or health. Dr. Toby F. Frescholtz, a Reno OB-GYN, the protections are still vulnerable without the constitutional measure.

“You may hear that we don’t need this legislation, that Nevada already had sufficient abortion protections, but two and a half years ago, abortion was legal across the country, and now, one in three women of reproductive age live in a state where they cannot access a safe and legal abortion. It’s time to be proactive,” Frescholtz says.

Frescholtz says there are too many stories from other states where abortions are outlawed, leading to delays in care, denied treatments for miscarriages, and victims of sexual assault being forced to give birth.

Nevada is one of ten states where abortion is on the ballot this year.

Republican state Sen. Robin Titus, a rural family medicine doctor who opposes the proposed amendment, says the language is too vague.

“I am very anxious about any health care decisions being in a constitution or through a legislative process. This particular bill was just a political act, and all the scare tactics, all these horrendous things that have truly happened in other states have not happened in Nevada because in 1990 that was codified into law,” Titus says.

Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said patients were traveling to Nevada to access abortions from states with stricter rules.