Demonstrators in Reno following the Dobbs ruling in June 2022. (Photo: Kingkini Sengupta/Nevada Current)
Because of the way state-level abortion protections were established in Nevada, abortion law is largely shielded from meddling by state lawmakers. But one ballot measure up for consideration by voters this year promises to make those protections even stronger.
Abortions in Nevada are currently legal up to 24 weeks after the start of the pregnancy and after 24 weeks if a physician believes the pregnant person’s life or health is at risk. Those protections were put in place via a citizen-driven referendum passed by voters in 1990 and would require a direct vote of the people to change.
Question 6 would establish abortion as a fundamental right in the state constitution, which also requires a vote of the people to amend. It would protect abortion until “fetal viability,” which by definition would be something determined by the patient’s health care practitioner. Abortions beyond that point would also be legal if needed to protect the pregnant person’s life or health.
Nevada’s existing statutes and the constitutional amendment proposed by Question 6 align with the federal protections that existed for nearly five decades before being overturned in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Question 6 amends the constitution, not state law — meaning it will not change the language of the voter-approved statute passed in 1990. Both protections, which are not in conflict with one another, would exist simultaneously, says Lindsey Harmon, president of Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom and executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada.
“This doubles down on the protections on statute,” she adds. “It makes it twice as hard to repeal or amend the referendum.”
Ballot measures proposing constitutional amendments must be voted on twice. If Question 6 passes this year, it must pass again in 2026.
Since the fall of Roe, voters in both red and blue states have chosen to protect abortion rights and reject bans. Harmon says that despite that, they are “taking nothing for granted in a post-Dobbs world.”
Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, which is associated with Planned Parenthood, is the well-funded coalition that qualified Question 6 and is advocating for its passage. The political action committee has raised $2.8 million this calendar year.
Harmon hopes a decisive victory on Question 6 can “put to bed” any lingering doubts about where Nevadans fall on the issue. In 1990, 63% voted in support.