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Nevada Abortion Rights Advocates Vow to Fight Ruling Against Ballot Measure
"Nevadans overwhelmingly support putting reproductive rights into our state constitution," said one abortion rights campaigner.
Nov 24, 2023
Abortion rights advocates said this week that they would appeal a decision by a Nevada judge to reject a 2024 ballot initiative to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution.
Carson City District Court Judge James Russell sided Tuesday with the Coalition for Parents and Children PAC, which last month filed a lawsuit claiming the ballot measure—which would guarantee the "fundamental right to reproductive freedom"—violates Nevada law by covering more than one subject. The petition mentions abortion, birth control, prenatal care, and post-partum care, which advocates note all fall under the umbrella of "reproductive freedom."
However, Russell said that "it is clear to me this is probably the clearest case I have seen that I think there is a violation of the single-subject rule."
"We are optimistic about the ballot initiative as a whole, and you know, we plan to appeal this."
Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom—a coalition including Planned Parenthood, Reproductive Freedom for All Nevada, and Indivisible Northern Nevada that filed the petition in September—disagreed with Russell's ruling and vowed to appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.
"We are optimistic about the ballot initiative as a whole, and you know, we plan to appeal this," said Lindsey Harmon with Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom. "And we know that in fact, these are all a single subject."
"Nevadans overwhelmingly support putting reproductive rights into our state constitution, and voters should be aware that anti-abortion advocates still have plenty of state government allies who are willing to help them undermine reproductive freedom," Harmon asserted, adding that the coalition would not "let one judge's misguided ruling deter us."
Voters in seven states—most recently Ohio—have passed ballot measures protecting reproductive rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's cancellation of half a century of federal abortion rights in last year's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.
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'Bad News for the South': State Supreme Court Upholds 6-Week Abortion Ban in South Carolina
"The result will essentially force an untold number of affected women to give birth without their consent," wrote Justice Donald Beatty in his dissent. "I am hard-pressed to think of a greater governmental intrusion by a political body."
Aug 23, 2023
Despite a recent poll showing that just 37% of South Carolinians backed a six-week abortion ban, the state Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the previously blocked law, gutting what remained of abortion access for millions of people across the South.
The ruling was handed down by the all-male high court following the mandatory retirement of former Justice Kaye Hearn, who wrote the majority opinion in another ruling in January which struck down a nearly identical six-week ban that had been passed in 2021.
The state Legislature appointed Judge Gary Hill to replace Hearn after two women who were running for the seat dropped out. State Sen. Sandy Senn (R-41) accused House Republicans of forcing Judges Stephanie McDonald and Aphrodite Konduros out of the race by holding informal polls that showed they were behind Hill. South Carolina now has the only all-male state Supreme Court in the United States.
The previous law was overturned in a 3-2 ruling, and Wednesday's decision was 4-1 with Chief Justice Donald Beatty dissenting.
Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said Wednesday's ruling "puts the dangerous politicization of South Carolina's highest court on full display."
"This abortion ban is nearly identical to the ban struck down by this court just months ago—the only thing that has changed is the makeup of the court," said Black. "Planned Parenthood South Atlantic's doors remain open, and we will continue to provide abortion care in South Carolina under the severe restrictions of this law, but we know that's not enough. This abortion ban takes away people's ability to control what happens to their bodies, forcing many South Carolinians to remain pregnant against their will."
The law upheld by the court, S.B. 474, bans abortion care after six weeks of pregnancy—before many people even know they are pregnant. It contains so-called "exceptions" for situations in which the pregnant person's life or health are at risk and in cases of a fetal diagnosis that is "incompatible" with life—but numerous cases in states that have placed extreme restrictions or bans on abortion care since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year have shown that such exceptions place pregnant people's lives and health at great risk.
S.B. 474 also ostensibly permits survivors of rape and incest to access abortion until 12 weeks of pregnancy, but only if their physician reports the crime and the survivor's name to law enforcement.
Planned Parenthood noted that not only South Carolina but people across the South will be affected by the ruling. Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama now have full abortion bans and are bordered by states that also ban or severely restrict abortion care. Georgia and South Carolina both ban abortion at six weeks and a six-week ban is also being reviewed being reviewed by Florida's Supreme Court.
"South Carolinians who need care past the earliest stages of pregnancy will have to travel out of state for care, seek abortion outside the healthcare system, or continue pregnancies against their will," said Planned Parenthood in a statement. "South Carolina has been a critical access point for abortion in the South, as surrounding states have banned or severely restricted abortion. Today's ruling means people across the region will need to travel much further for abortion care."
Noting a survey taken by Winthrop University in May that showed nearly two-thirds of South Carolina residents opposed a six-week ban, NARAL Pro-Choice America said the state Supreme Court had "subverted the will of South Carolinians."
"The result will essentially force an untold number of affected women to give birth without their consent," wrote Beatty in his dissent. "I am hard-pressed to think of a greater governmental intrusion by a political body. This outcome is not an affirmation of the separation of powers, as the majority declares, but an abdication of this court's duty to ascertain the constitutionality of the challenged legislation."
After the 2021 law was struck down by the court in January, Republican legislators amended the law to clarify that contraceptives are permitted, among other changes.
But Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Alexis McGill Johnson said the new ruling is "not only a stunning reversal of a decision made just seven months ago but an exceedingly dangerous and cynical move by the court that has chosen to do the bidding of anti-abortion politicians in the Legislature."
Nancy Northrup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that "with today's decision, the court has turned their backs on South Carolinians and their fundamental rights."
"A change in the court's makeup shouldn't change the enduring protections of South Carolina's constitution," she added. "The right to make deeply personal healthcare decisions should not depend on where you live, and we will not stop fighting for reproductive freedom in South Carolina and across the country."
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Ohio Voters Reject GOP 'Power Grab' Aimed at Thwarting Abortion Rights Amendment
"Issue 1 was a blatant attempt by its supporters to control both the policy agenda and the process of direct democracy," said one campaigner.
Aug 09, 2023
Ohio voters on Tuesday decisively rejected a Republican-authored measure that would have made it more difficult to amend the state constitution through the ballot initiative process, a billionaire-funded effort aimed at preempting a November vote on abortion rights.
If approved by voters, the measure known as Issue 1 would have raised the threshold for passage of a constitutional amendment from a simple majority to 60%. The measure also would have imposed more stringent signature requirements for Ohio ballot initiatives.
The GOP proposal—which was the only item on the ballot in Tuesday's special election—failed by a vote of 43% to 57%, according to the Ohio secretary of state's office.
"Issue 1 was a blatant attempt by its supporters to control both the policy agenda and the process of direct democracy," said Rachael Belz, the CEO of Ohio Citizen Action, one of the groups that mobilized in opposition to the proposal. "When they forced Issue 1 onto the ballot, they awakened a sleeping giant and unleashed a movement. And that movement isn't going away tomorrow. It will continue to build and grow and to carry us through to victories in November and beyond."
The Republican push for Issue 1 drew national attention given the implications for both the democratic process and reproductive rights in Ohio, where abortion is currently legal through 22 weeks of pregnancy—though the state GOP is working to change that.
A proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in November would codify the right to abortion access in the Ohio constitution, stating that "every individual has a right to make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one's own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion."
Frank LaRose, Ohio's Republican secretary of state and a U.S. Senate hopeful, said in June that Issue 1 was " 100% about" preventing passage of the abortion rights amendment.
Recent polling indicates that around 58% of Ohioans back the proposed amendment—a level of support that would have been insufficient had Issue 1 succeeded.
"From defeating Issue 1 tonight to submitting nearly twice the amount of signatures needed to get a measure protecting abortion access on the ballot in November, Ohio voters have made clear that they will settle for nothing less than reproductive freedom for all," Mini Timmaraju, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement late Tuesday.
"Republicans should be ashamed of their efforts to subvert the will of voters," Timmaraju added. "Seeing this measure defeated is a victory for our fundamental rights and our democracy. We're grateful to our partners on the ground for their tireless efforts to secure abortion rights and access. We look forward to fighting by their side to lock this fundamental freedom into law in November."
"It was the hard work and resilience of Ohioans of all parties that prevented the destruction of a foundational right we've held for 110+ years."
The Republican attack on the ballot initiative process in Ohio is part of a nationwide GOP effort to limit direct democracy as the party—emboldened by the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court—continues its effort to roll back abortion rights and other freedoms.
According to a March tally by election analyst Stephen Wolf, Republicans have recently tried to make it harder to pass citizen-led ballot initiatives in at least 10 states, including Ohio, Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas.
"In the many states where the GOP has refused to take action, activists have used ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid, raise the minimum wage, secure abortion rights, protect the right to vote, curb gerrymandering, legalize marijuana, promote gun safety, and more," Wolf wrote. "How have Republicans reacted to this? By trying to make it harder to pass initiatives in the first place."
Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, said Tuesday that "since 1912, Ohioans have had the right to collect signatures and bring proposed constitutional amendments directly to voters."
"This is an important check on the state legislature, hyperpartisan politicians, and special interests who did everything they could to take away that right," Turcer added. "It was the hard work and resilience of Ohioans of all parties that prevented the destruction of a foundational right we've held for 110+ years."
"Tonight's results," Turcer said, "are a resounding victory for Ohio voters who helped stop this power grab by the state legislature and Secretary of State Frank LaRose."
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