After the resounding pro-life defeat on Issue 1 in Ohio, the anti-life activists are feeling chuffed and loaded to do battle in other states to see pro-life laws and efforts destroyed. Nevada is one of those battlegrounds. Abortion is already legal in Nevada past the 20 week mark, so the well-funded activists are doing their utmost to protect abortion rights in order to push them even further past the envelope.
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It is a slippery slope: once the right is codified, then endless changes to the language can be enacted to re-define that right to abortion up to birth and past the moment of birth. It happened under Roe v. Wade, and is happening again under the created constitutional right to abortion in Ohio and California. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom PAC, which was founded in 2023 and is heavily affiliated with Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF), introduced the abortion constitutional right initiative, which if approved, would get the green light to garner signatures in order for it to appear on the November 2024 ballot. But in a swift counter, the pro-life organization called Coalition for Parents and Children PAC has stepped up. On October 6 they filed a lawsuit to stop its forward movement.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Carson City’s First Judicial District Court, the Coalition for Parents and Children political action committee argues the ballot initiative is illegal because it is too broad for a single question, does not reflect the entire implications of the question and would cost taxpayer funds. The PAC filed its registration paperwork with the secretary of state’s office on Thursday.
The Coalition for Parents and Children PAC lists one officer — Donna Washington — who is also named as the plaintiff in the lawsuit. Washington, the wife of pastor and former state Sen. Maurice Washington (R-Reno), referred questions to her attorney, Jason Guinasso, who registered the PAC and filed the lawsuit.
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On November 21, a District Court Judge agreed with the plaintiffs.
“This is probably the clearest case I have seen that I think there is a violation of the single subject rule,” Russell said Tuesday, 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.”
BREAKING IN NEVADA: Judge ruled AGAINST making abortion a constitutional right! HUGE win!https://t.co/OleYMGdmYQ
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) November 24, 2023
A judge in Carson City District Court has struck down a petition guaranteeing reproductive rights in the Nevada Constitution.
On November 11, 2023, Judge James Russell listened to arguments for and against the initiative petition.
Jason Guinasso with the Coalition for Parents and Children argued the petition covered more than one subject which is against Nevada law. He told the judge, the petition doesn’t just mention reproductive rights, but abortion, birth control, prenatal care, and post-partum care. Not only that, Guinasso said the petition as written protects those who provide that care as well as those who facilitate that care.
Guinasso called it “log rolling” where the petition may address a topic the voter is interested in, then adds other subjects the voter may not know about. He also said the petition, if it ultimately became part of the constitution, would be an unfunded mandate, costing taxpayers here in Nevada.
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While this is a victory, it is a short-lived one, as the pro-abortion activists from Nevadans for Reproductive Choice PAC have stated they will appeal the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court. The state legislature is also working on bills that would result in codifying abortion into the state constitution. The drip, drip, drip effect proves that the anti-life agenda is relentless, and they will not stop until they achieve their ends. The pro-life movement must be equally relentless.
Nevada is one of nine states that PPAF has targeted in order to get abortion on the ballot with the goal of enshrining it into state constitutions.
Abortion rights groups seek ballot measures in nine more states in 2024:
Arizona
Colorado
Florida
Maryland
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New York
South Dakota
https://t.co/35N3CNPA2A via @nbcnews— Lauren Peikoff✡️ (@laurenpeikoff) November 22, 2023
PPAF has enough propaganda arms, funding, and lawyers who know how to get past the laws on the books in order to see it done. If pro-life organizations wish to preserve a culture of life where voters reject this push, education and changing hearts and minds will be key.
Seeking to extend their unbroken winning streak, abortion rights supporters are already deeply entrenched in efforts in at least nine states to put the issue on the ballot in 2024. Groups have begun collecting signatures to let voters in these states decide on similar initiatives.
The latest victory for the movement was in Ohio, where voters enshrined abortion rights in the constitution of the Republican-leaning state.
It’s all part of a growing effort to put abortion rights directly in the hands of voters — a movement that took off after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its June 2022 Dobbs decision.“We’ve already seen the power of direct democracy in seven states where campaigns to protect or restore abortion rights won resoundingly,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, the CEO of Planned Parenthood’s political arm — a group closely involved in state efforts to expand abortion rights. “Across the country, voters are eager to fight the tide of anti-abortion policies pushed by politicians.”
Many, however, face a far less certain path forward than previous efforts. In some deep-red states where such efforts are underway, hurdles include public opinion on abortion care that is much less supportive, while in others, the obstacles are technical — including difficult signature and passage thresholds.
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One Ohio OB-GYN who opposed Issue 1 and spoke out against its deceptive language, had this say about how life should be promoted over ballot initiatives.
It is unfair to women to end the life of their preborn children without presenting them with all of their options. Too many times, I have spoken with women who were told they needed to have an induced abortion when there were other options, including expectant management (waiting with careful monitoring) or perinatal palliative care (hospice) for a baby with a life-limiting condition.
Women are harmed when they cannot trust their doctors to tell them about all of their options.
Doing that includes connecting them with tangible resources that address any socioeconomic barriers they face that often lead to a decision to have an induced abortion.
Americans do not have to say “yes” to state ballot initiatives to constitutionalize induced abortion to protect themselves or their daughters, girlfriends, or wives.