Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998 | 3:09 a.m.
Key events in Nevada since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized certain abortions in 1973 through Roe vs. Wade:
1973 -- Nevada Attorney General Robert List declared the state's anti-abortion statute unconstitutional because of the high court ruling. Abortions were expected to become available in Las Vegas within a month of his announcement.
The State Board of Health subsequently ruled that licensed doctors could perform abortions in their offices during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. All abortions after that had to be done in hospitals or surgical centers.
1974 -- The abortion issue bitterly divided doctors at the 22nd Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Las Vegas.
1977 -- Local residents offered donations to a Las Vegas couple identified only as Diane and Rick after they were forced to sell an $800 motorcycle -- their only mode of transportation -- in order to pay for her abortion.
The State Welfare Board decided to cut off state money to pay for poor women's elective abortions after foes of the procedure termed the birth control program "hideous." Pro-life Nevadans also testified at a congressional hearing that International Women's Year conferences held throughout the country discriminated against anti-abortion groups.
1981 -- Gov. Robert List signed into law Assembly Bill 596, legislation that required a doctor to inform parents of a girl under age 18 of their daughter's intent to terminate pregnancy. A wife who wanted an abortion also had to inform her husband at least 24 hours before the procedure. Doctors who violated the law would be charged with misdemeanors.
U.S. District Judge Bruce Thompson in Reno later granted a preliminary injunction against the new abortion law at the request of 16 physicians and the Planned Parenthood organizations of Clark and Washoe counties. The plaintiffs charged the law was unconstitutional.
1984 -- The American Civil Liberties Union got Nevada's attorney general's office and all 17 Nevada district attorneys to sign an agreement that killed the 1981 state abortion law. Thompson also signed an order ruling the law unconstitutional.
1985 -- Americans Against Abortion invited Las Vegas reporters to view two preserved, aborted fetuses named Baby Choice 1984 and Baby Choice 1985 as part of a nationwide tour by anti-abortion clergymen.
Gov. Richard Bryan signed a bill into law forbidding physicians from performing abortions for unmarried or unemancipated women under 18 without notifying the custodial parent or guardian. Again, Planned Parenthood contested the law as unconstitutional, resulting in a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Edward Reed in Reno. The law was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
1989 -- A poll conducted by UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno, determined three-fourths of all Nevadans believed a woman should be permitted to obtain an abortion with her physician's consent. However, a similar percentage also said they would require women under 18 to get their parents' approval.
Ninety pro-life protesters with Southern Nevada Operation Rescue, including on-duty Metro police officer Chet Gallagher, were arrested after blocking the entrances to the Family Planning Institute, a Las Vegas abortion clinic. Gallagher, placed on leave with pay following his arrest, defended his action as that of an officer exercising his discretion.
1990 -- Nevadans reaffirmed the 1973 state law that allowed women to seek abortions for any reason during the first six months of pregnancy, and to protect the health of the mother during the final three months. This was done through Question 7 on the general election ballot, which was initiated by Campaign for Choice and approved by 63 percent of the voters.
More than 2,000 pro-life advocates protested in front of Humana Hospital Sunrise following a report that a 1-pound, 4-ounce fetus delivered during a late-term abortion was left to die. A subsequent Clark County grand jury report determined no criminal wrongdoing but recommended guidelines for abortions that could result in live births.
1992 -- Nevada ranked 9th among states with the best access to legal abortions in a study performed by the National Abortion Rights Action League.
About 3,000 people in Las Vegas participating in a national pro-life demonstration joined hands to form a cross at Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway.
1993 -- The state Senate Human Resources Committee passed a parental notification bill for girls under 18 who wanted an abortion, but it died on the Senate floor.
1994 -- Clark County District Judge Donald Mosley refused to hold Family Planning Clinic of Las Vegas financially responsible for referring a woman to a North Las Vegas clinic where she died after an abortion. Anjelica Duarte died at the Women's Place clinic, which was closed down shortly thereafter.
1995 -- For the second consecutive legislative session, the Senate Human Resources Committee approved a parental notification bill, only to see it die on the Senate floor.
1996 -- Planned Parenthood announced plans to provide abortions in Southern Nevada. The following week, United Way of Southern Nevada declared that none of the money it donated to Planned Parenthood could be used for abortions.
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