June 24, 2022
Carson City, NV - Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford released the following statement as the Supreme Court overturned the landmark case Roe v. Wade, and, for the first time, entirely eliminated a constitutional right.
"Today is a sad day for our country. We must allow ourselves time to feel sorrow over today's decision, but we must and will wake up tomorrow ready to continue the fight," said AG Ford. "I will do everything within my power to stand up and fight for Americans' shared constitutional reproductive rights that were erroneously and cruelly stripped away."
"I want to stress that this decision will not immediately affect abortion access in Nevada," AG Ford continued. "Nevadans' right to reproductive care is protected under state law, but that does not mean we can become complacent. Those who wish to attack reproductive rights will not stop at this ruling, and there are ways less sympathetic state or federal governments could find ways to restrict access in Nevada."
On Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court overturned the protections established under the landmark case Roe v. Wade. By choosing to disregard this long-standing legal precedent, there is now no longer a nationwide right to an abortion, rather a patchwork approach reliant on state law.
The decision comes a day after Attorney General Ford and representatives of six other state attorney general offices met with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the status of reproductive rights across the country.
In the meeting, Vice President Harris and the representatives discussed the roles that state attorneys general have in protecting the health and safety of women in their state, and the varying authorities under state law that they have to defend reproductive rights.
In Nevada, voters guaranteed a right to a legal abortion until 24 weeks of pregnancy by referendum in 1990. This law, codified in NRS 442.250, cannot be changed or repealed in Nevada unless voters back another referendum to do so.
Attorney General Ford has stressed that this does not mean Nevada would not be impacted by a restriction on reproductive rights. Abortion bans in other states can lead to people coming to Nevada to seek care. Also, a federal ban on abortion would supersede Nevada law, or a future state government hostile to reproductive rights could find ways to restrict abortion access within the framework approved by the 1990 referendum.
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