ACLU files challenge to Nevada’s Medicaid coverage ban for abortions

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KOLO) – The ACLU of Nevada has filed a legal challenge to Nevada’s Medicaid coverage ban on abortions.

The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of Silver State Hope Fund in Clark County. The ACLU says the ban violates the state Constitution by creating sex-based discrimination for care.

The Silver State Hope Fund, which the ACLU describes as a nonprofit offering abortion assistance, further argues the law is a violation of Nevada’s Equal Rights Amendment.

They say the majority of their clients cannot get full coverage as they are on Medicaid.

“Nevadans sent a strong message last November that inequality and discrimination have no place in Nevada when we voted to add the Equal Rights Amendment to our state constitution, and now we need to fulfill that promise. For too long, women and people who need access to abortion have been denied coverage just because they get their insurance from the state’s Medicaid program. Nevada’s Medicaid policy has forced organizations like Silver State Hope Fund to step in where the state has failed to provide funding to pregnant Nevadans to cover abortion-related costs, but this shouldn’t be how the system works. Every human deserves dignified access to health care, including abortion care, regardless of their sex, gender, or income level,” said Erin Bilbray-Kohn, vice president and acting executive director, Silver State Hope Fund

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