A Nevada judge rejected a state ballot initiative on abortion rights, calling it overly ‘broad’

• A Nevada judge rejected a ballot measure that would protect abortion rights.
• Judge James T. Russell said the measure as written was too broad.
• It comes as more states move to enshrine reproductive rights in their constitutions.

A Nevada judge turned down a ballot measure that would have constitutionally protected abortion rights in the state, calling the amendment overly broad.

The measure, proposed by Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, included “all matters relating to pregnancy,” not just abortion.

Judge James T. Russell agreed with opponents of the measure that its wording was too broad to fit with the state’s single-subject rule that a referendum or initiative “must embrace one subject,” local ABC affiliate KOLO-TV reported.

“This is probably the clearest case I have seen that I think there is a violation of the single subject rule,” Russell said, according to KOLO. “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.”

A portion of the proposed amendment, according to the Nevada Independent, read: “Every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including, without limitation, prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, vasectomy, tubal ligation, abortion, abortion care, management of a miscarriage and infertility care.”

Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom plans to appeal the decision, KOLO reported.

“Nevadans overwhelmingly support putting reproductive rights into our state constitution, and voters should be aware that anti-abortion advocates still have plenty of state government allies who are willing to help them undermine reproductive freedom,” Lindsey Harmon, president of Nevadans For Reproductive Freedom, said in a statement, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

In this post-Roe v. Wade world, advocates and opponents of abortion have engaged in a tug-of-war over whether and how reproductive rights will be enshrined in state constitutions.

Kansas made headlines in 2022 when voters overwhelmingly opposed a measure that would have stripped state residents of abortion rights. Subsequently (though unsurprisingly), California also protected the constitutional right to abortion care in 2022.

Ohio did the same earlier this month in a landslide victory for the red state, establishing the right to an abortion up to the point of fetal viability. Abortion rights also played a crucial role in elections in Virginia and Kentucky.

States to watch in 2024 on abortion measures include Arizona, Florida, Missouri, and South Dakota. Each has proposed — or is collecting signatures for — constitutional amendments supporting abortion rights.