CV NEWS FEED // A Nevada judge recently struck down a pro-abortion group’s proposed ballot measure, ruling against an amendment that would have established a constitutional right to abortion.
Judge James Russell ruled on Nov. 21 that the proposed amendment’s language was too vague, as it guaranteed a right to “all matters relating to pregnancy,” which includes abortion, birth control, and prenatal and postpartum care. According to KOLO News, Russell said that the amendment’s implications were unclear to voters and would have violated a Nevada law, which states that ballot questions need to be limited to a specific subject.
“This is probably the clearest case I have seen that I think there is a violation of the single subject rule,” Russell said, according to KOLO News. “I’ve seen a lot of them over the years and in respect to this particular matter, there are too many subjects, not all of which are functionally related to each other.”
The Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom PAC, which is affiliated with Planned Parenthood’s advocacy branch, spearheaded the amendment initiative. According to KOLO News, the PAC is now appealing to Nevada’s supreme court, claiming that abortion, birth control, and other pregnancy-related issues are “all a single subject.”
KOLO News also reported that the PAC’s president, Lindsay Harmon, hopes that the Nevada supreme court will approve the ballot measure in early 2024.
“We will not let one judge’s misguided ruling deter us from giving Nevadans the opportunity to vote to permanently protect their reproductive rights in the Nevada Constitution,” Harmon said, according to the Nevada Independent.
If the Nevada supreme court approves the abortion measure, the PAC would need to collect over 100,000 supporting signatures to put it on the ballot in November 2024.
Assuming that the ballot passes in 2024, it would need to pass once more in 2026 to become part of the state constitution.
