Vice President Kamala Harris, left, listens to Nevada Assemblywoman Rochelle Nguyen, third right, during roundtable discussion on reproductive rights with local lawmakers at the MGM Grand Conference Center Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022.
Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris spent Wednesday in Las Vegas advocating for women’s reproductive rights, expressing her disapproval with new anti-abortion legislation.
In a discussion with Nevada elected officials, including Attorney General Aaron Ford and Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, Harris stressed the importance of protecting reproductive rights across the country.
“I will tell you, having spent a large part of my career as a prosecutor — and I specialized in child sexual assault cases and violence against women — the idea that laws would be passed that, after a person has endured such an act of violence to not allow her to exercise the self-determination then to make decisions about her body and her future is abhorrent,” Harris said.
She noted a first-of-its-kind referendum last week in conservative Kansas, where voters elected to keep abortion legal and not amend the state constitution. It was the first such statewide vote on the issue since the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade earlier this summer.
“To stand for the proposition that the government should not interfere in the most intimate, private decision a person can make about their body and their future,” Harris said. “To stand in support of them does not require one to abandon their faith or their belief. It’s simply saying the government should not be making that decision.”
Nevada legislators highlighted the efforts taken hereto protect access to abortion, contraception and other forms of reproductive health care.
Assemblywoman Rochelle Nguyen, D-Las Vegas, talked about changes since 2019, when Nevada became the first state with a female-majority legislature. The legislature passed and Gov. Steve Sisolak signed the Trust Nevada Women Act, which removed a requirement that patients be told about the “emotional implications” of getting an abortion and removed a requirement that doctors find out the marital status and age of patients before performing abortions.
The law also got rid of criminal penalties for anyone who “supplies or administers” abortion medication without the advice of a doctor.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Sisolak signed an executive order protecting anyone seeking reproductive health care in Nevada.
“The resolve of Nevadans is strong,” Nguyen said. “We have shown the American people that we will defend the rights of women no matter where they come from.”
Nevada voters in 1990 approved a ballot question on a statute, NRS 442.250, that outlined the conditions under which abortion was permitted in the state. The statute allows a woman to obtain an abortion by a physician within the first 24 weeks of a pregnancy. The question further stated that the statute would “remain in effect and cannot be changed, except by a direct vote of the people.”
Harris on Wednesday also touted strides by the Biden administration in improving the economy, which saw the inflation rate dip from 9.1% in June to 8.5% in July, according to a government report issued Tuesday.
The U.S. created about 500,000 jobs in the past month and 9 million jobs in the past 18 months, “which means that we have recovered all the jobs that were lost by the pandemic,” Harris said. “We are seeing great progress.”
The jobless rate is at 3.5%, she said, its the lowest mark in the past half-century.
Harris also spoke to the 2022 Constitutional Convention of the United Steelworkers, talking about the union’s accomplishments in building infrastructure and pushing for improvements in workplace safety.
She highlighted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Biden signed into law in 2021, and how steelworkers and others would benefit from it, such as manufacturing fiber-optic cables and producing materials for roads and bridges.
She said the nation’s workers could expect more with the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden will sign into law after the House of Representatives votes on it, possibly as soon as Friday.
Harris ended her visit to the valley by talking with members of the Culinary Union and touring MGM Grand’s pastry kitchen, where workers are part of the union.
Accompanied by U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., Harris listened to workers explain their skill levels and how the day-to-day operations work.
Harris’ visit didn’t impress everyone. U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt, who is facing incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in November, issued a statement saying: “Kamala Harris hopes her glamorous visit with (Cortez) Masto will distract Nevada voters from the real issues: Inflation is at a 40-year high, weekly earnings for middle-class families have been down for 16 consecutive months, gas and diesel prices remain unaffordable, and consumer confidence is near its record low.”
Cortez Masto, however, wasn’t present for any of the events the vice president attended. Cortez Masto’s campaign said Harris’ visit was an official vice presidential event and there was no campaigning.
Elizabeth Ray, the spokesperson for Joe Lombardo’s gubernatorial campaign, said in a statement that Sisolak was “bringing out his friend Kamala Harris to help his struggling campaign.”
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