Monday, July 1, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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I hate being right sometimes.
Unfortunately, for those of us in the reproductive rights movement, we’ve been right a lot lately. For years, we’ve been sounding the alarm that there is a concerted effort underway to gut Roe v. Wade, punish women and take us backward. Other people called us hysterical, claimed we were exaggerating and promised us that our elected officials didn’t want to touch settled law in this country.
No one is saying that anymore.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, from Jan. 1 to May 30, there were 378 laws restricting abortion introduced in state legislatures across the country, 40% being actual abortion bans.
And it doesn’t stop at introductions. Seventeen abortion bans have been enacted across 10 states. This includes a total ban on abortion in Alabama, where an exemption for cases of rape and incest failed after five hours of debate. (It is important to note that despite all of these attempts to ban abortion, not a single ban has taken effect. Abortion is still legal everywhere in America thanks to organizations like the ACLU, which are actively fighting these unconstitutional bans in court.)
Nevada, though, is one of the few states proactively protecting our reproductive freedoms. This isn’t surprising, because the state has a long history of trusting women and protecting our rights. In 1973, Nevada enacted a law affirming a woman’s right to choose. And in 1990, Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum — Question 7 — that codified the framework established in Roe v. Wade in statute.
However, even with our long history of protecting reproductive rights, the Legislature did not pass any legislation protecting reproductive freedom after it codified Roe in 1973.
That is, until this year. The 80th session of the Nevada Legislature welcomed the first female-majority legislative body in the nation. It also brought about the first bill to protect our reproductive freedom in decades: The Trust Nevada Women Act, or SB179, championed by state Sen. Yvanna Cancela, D-Las Vegas.
The Trust Nevada Women Act affirmed Nevadans’ commitment to protecting reproductive freedom by removing outdated criminal penalties for abortion and updating our informed consent law to 2019 medical standards. Nevada was one of only six remaining states with laws on the books that criminalized people for ending their pregnancies. That law, which SB179 removed, was the harshest law in the country: Nevadans could have faced up to 10 years in prison for exercising their own bodily autonomy.
The Trust Nevada Women Act was signed into law by Gov. Steve Sisolak on May 31. It becomes law today.
This bill becoming law did not just happen. It was the result of hard work by thousands of Nevadans who spoke out and held their state representatives accountable for standing up for our reproductive rights.
Whether they took a NARAL “Feminist Road Trip” from Las Vegas to Carson City to meet with their reps, attended a rally, came to a lobby appointment or simply filled out a postcard to their senator, Nevadans made their voices heard. Every hearing held on the Trust Nevada Women Act was a packed room, with supporters significantly outnumbering the opposition.
This legislation was also supported by a broad coalition of doctors, medical providers, clergy members, nonprofit organizations and countless Nevadans who believe that decisions about bearing children are deeply personal and politicians should not interfere.
With Roe v. Wade under threat of being gutted by the Supreme Court, we are looking at the very real possibility that state laws will become the law of the land for reproductive health care. Every state should follow the leadership of Nevada — stand up and fight back for women by ensuring we’re never criminalized for accessing health care. There is no time to waste.
Caroline Mello Roberson is the state director of NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada.
