Nevada lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a measure that would codify a “right” to abortion in the state constitution.
SJR7 will amend the state constitution to add a section “guarantees each individuals in this State have a fundamental right to reproductive freedom; permitted the State to regulate abortion care after fetal viability with certain exceptionss; and prevents the State from punishing, prosecuting or taking any other adverse action action against an individual or entity for the exercise of reproductive rights liberty or for aiding or abetting another individual in the exercise of his right to reproductive liberty.”
The Associated Press reports that measure passed the General Assembly by a vote of 28 to 14 along party lines after passing the Senate last month. Lawmakers must pass the resolution again in 2025 so it can be added to the ballot for voters to decide in 2026.
Although access to abortion within 24 weeks is already codified in Nevada law, pro-abortion lawmakers want to go further in promoting abortion in the state.
“SJR 7 ensures that everyone in our state is protected in the strongest possible way from denial of reproductive health care and from prosecution for meeting their reproductive needs,” Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno said.
“Our state, among many other states, is being tested on whether we stand up for reproductive and medical freedom for Nevadans,” Democratic Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch said before voting for the resolution. “Decisions about our health care, especially our reproductive health care, should be between a doctor, a patient, and those they trust.”
Several Republican lawmakers spoke out against the amendment, including Assemblyman Ken Gray, who shared that his own mother had considered abortion.
“If I wasn’t here, my children wouldn’t be here,” he said said. “I do not and will not view (abortion) as anything other than evil.”
Nevada Right to Life states that as written, the amendment would allow abortion for any reason during all nine months of pregnancy. It also removes parental consent, and offers no protections for women.
“SJR7 is poorly understood, poorly written, and is a very broad word salad that will at best keep Nevada Courts busy for a decade deciding what it actually means and at worst it will turn Nevada into an abortion industrial complex that has fallen victim to one of the world’s greatest tragedies. a woman facing,” the group forewarned.
