Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
As the dust settles from the Supreme Court’s devastating ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, state governments have been plunged into chaos as legal challenges and legislative battles pile up and voters are beginning to register their outrage. In race after race, anti-abortion politicians are facing a groundswell of support for abortion rights, with the subject abruptly rising on voters’ list of important issues ahead of November’s midterm elections, according to opinion polls.
Republican politicians across the country who once reveled in their historic legal victory have suddenly found themselves on the defensive when it comes to abortion access, and Nevada state attorney general candidate Sigal Chattah is no different.
Chattah, like countless other GOP candidates, has come to the realization that abortion bans are broadly unpopular, even across party lines. With Election Day looming, these candidates are scrambling to appear moderate and distance themselves from the strident anti-abortion positions they once proudly espoused.
Shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling came down, Chattah tweeted, “As Nevada’s next Attorney General, I will faithfully protect and defend the laws of the State whether I personally agree with them or not.” It was an inoffensive statement, to be sure, but it stands in stark contrast from past inflammatory rhetoric.
Chattah has a well-documented history of radical, virulent opposition to abortion care, tweeting just last year that “if abortion is healthcare then murder is population control,” and arguing that abortion access is not health care, it’s “an elective procedure.”
Similarly, in a May appearance on Nevada Newsmakers, Chattah stated her belief that “life begins at the fetal heartbeat,” a standard widely derided by medical experts as arbitrary. So-called “heartbeat bills” ban abortion at around the six-week mark of a pregnancy, a point at which many people aren’t even aware they are pregnant.
Chattah’s support for such legislation places her in the same camp as Texas state lawmakers who this year imposed their own draconian six-week abortion ban. The new law — which does not allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest — also limits access to care for other obstetric conditions like ectopic pregnancies or incomplete miscarriages, as doctors fearful of legal prosecution opt to not provide treatments that could be misconstrued as unlawful.
Chattah is far from the first anti-abortion extremist to paper over past opinions in order to present to voters a veneer of evenhandedness. Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters recently tried to temper his public position on abortion, scrubbing his website of his support of a “federal personhood law” and other similarly radical anti-abortion positions, while releasing a campaign ad in which he took a notably softer stance on the issue.
Michigan GOP congressional candidate Tom Barrett took a similar tack, removing any mention of his fanatical anti-abortion positions from his campaign website in an effort to obscure the truth from voters.
It comes as little surprise, then, that even Chattah’s fellow Republicans are abandoning ship, with party juggernauts like former state Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson calling her “unhinged” and a “charlatan,” and taking the extraordinary step of refusing to support her in the general election.
At a time when our politics feel more partisan than ever, such disavowal across the political spectrum speaks volumes about Chattah’s suitability for elected office.
Attorneys general have a noble obligation to be the “people’s lawyer,” and their priorities ought to reflect the best interests of the people they represent. Chattah’s stark opposition to abortion care could not be further from the interests of Nevadans, approximately 70% of whom supported access to abortion as of last year.
In contrast, incumbent Attorney General Aaron Ford has a long record of supporting access to abortion and has consistently championed the individual autonomy of Nevadans and the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions.
Whoever becomes the next state attorney general will wield enormous influence and power over the lives of Nevadans, and that includes access to abortion care. As women across the country have their rights violently wrenched away, it’s time we stand up and fight for candidates who reflect the will of the voters and commit to safeguarding our personal freedoms. Extremists like Chattah are working overtime to make sure voters are kept in the dark, so let’s work together to shed some light on what they really think.
Donna West is a retired public service employee, abortion rights activist and former Chairwoman of the Clark County Democratic Party. She resides in Las Vegas.
