Summary
Nevada Question 6, the Right to Abortion Initiative, would add Article 1, Section 25 to the state’s constitution, in part reading:
All individuals shall have a fundamental right to abortion performed or administered by a qualified health care practitioner until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient, without interference from the state or its political subdivisions.
The constitutional protections set forth in the proposed amendment are similar to current Nevada law, under which abortion is legal until the 24th week of pregnancy.
Fiscal Impact
There is no official estimate of any fiscal impacts from this initiative. Since it does not deviate appreciably from existing state law there is likely no fiscal impact.
Proponents’ Arguments
Nevadans for Reproductive Choice has led the campaign in favor of the amendment. Pro-choice activists have argued to Nevada voters that despite not differing substantively from the legal regime in place, a constitutional amendment is nonetheless important due to the overturning of Roe vs Wade and legislation in many states to limit abortion rights. They point out that abortion rights are supported by “a broad majority of Americans.”
Lindsey Harmon, the organization’s president, stated:
It’s important to remember that this is about bodily autonomy and individual freedoms, so we believe that belongs in the state constitution, as well as just doubling down and protecting access. We’ve seen a lot of legislators in a lot of other states push abortion bans against the will of the people and so we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can in the state of Nevada, as well as we want people in the state of Nevada to have an opportunity to vote on this. Take it out of the elected people’s hands and return this vote to the vote of the people.
Opponents’ Arguments
Nevada pro-life activists, as well as some state Republicans, have argued against the bill, particularly emphasizing the already-favorable legal climate for abortion in Nevada. Krystal Minera-Alvis, communications director for Nevada Right to Life, told The New York Times the group’s primary strategy this fall is getting the word out that the same rights are already protected under Nevada law. “If the average Nevadan finds out what the law already is, what’s already legalized, they would not vote for it,” she said.
Nevada’s Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Sam Brown, has expressed moderate views on abortion, saying he would keep Nevada’s current legal regime and not support any federal abortion ban.
Melissa Clement of Nevada Right to Life attacked the amendment as political posturing more directly: “As a woman, nothing makes me angrier than Democrats taking one of the most difficult and traumatic decisions a woman can make and using it for political fodder. Scaring women. It’s despicable,” she said at a rally.
Discussion
Amendments to Nevada’s constitution currently require just over 100,000 signatures to get on the ballot, and must be passed twice by voters. If passed this year, Nevada’s proposed amendment will go before voters a second time in 2026 before approval.
Many ballot initiatives require the informed voter to familiarize themselves with details of fiscal policy and regulation that are not usually at the forefront of political debate, and on which voters may not have strong opinions when walking into the voting booth. The Nevada Right to Abortion Initiative is just the opposite. Most voters nationwide already have pro-choice or pro-life views—often firmly held—and will vote on the measure according to those views.
Like several other state initiatives in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Clinic decision overturning Roe vs. Wade, the Nevada ballot measure seeks to further protect abortion rights already written into law by enshrining them in the state constitution. In 2022 and 2023, voters in four states (California, Vermont, Michigan, and Ohio) passed similar measures, while voters in three other states (Kansas, Kentucky and Montana) defeated measures that would have restricted abortion rights. Nevada is one of at least six states with abortion-related measures on the 2024 ballot.
Abortion rights and restrictions after about 24 weeks already enjoy more protection in Nevada than basic statutory law, because they were passed by voters in a 1990 referendum. The result is that to repeal or change the law would require one voter referendum, whereas undoing the amendment now in front of voters would require two referenda and likely more administrative hurdles associated with amending the constitution. The extra layer of protection afforded abortion rights should voters pass the 2024 and 2026 ballot measures is far from negligible, though this represents the only practical gain for the pro-choice movement from Nevada’s amendment passing.
The criticism from opponents that the amendment is mostly about politics ring true, though certainly a constitutional provision is stronger than a legislative one. In the wake of the Dobbs ruling, activists on both sides are continuing their political work at the state level. Abortion has long been among the nation’s most divisive issues, and many Nevadans, who polls show favor abortion rights more than most states, may value the political statement in and of itself.