Nevada Democrats sounding alarms on abortion issues

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Democrats are making abortion a key issue in the upcoming election, with statements released by elected officials on Monday — 51 years since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

A study released following the 2022 elections immediately after the June ruling showed the abortion issue motivated Democrats to vote in disproportionate numbers. First-time voters, as well as younger voters and women under the age of 50, turned out in that election.

That analysis came from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which describes itself as “the independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.” It was released less than a week after the Nov. 8, 2022, election that sent Joe Biden to the White House, and resulted in some key Democratic victories in Nevada.

Now, Nevada Democrats are once again making a concerted effort to rally voters around the abortion issue. Now, like in 2022, the economy and inflation are on voters’ minds. Inflation was considered the most important issue to voters in 2022. An Emerson College Poll released Jan. 9, 2024, showed the economy was the top concern for Nevada voters.

Information posted by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health makes it clear that Nevadans have the right to an abortion under state law. “Any person in Nevada who is pregnant has the legal right to choose to have an abortion when performed by a licensed physician within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. An abortion may be performed after 24 weeks where the physician has reasonable cause to believe an abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person. You do not have to be a Nevada resident to receive abortion care in the state.” The state law is available at https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-442.html#NRS442Sec250

According to Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro in an Op-Ed piece published in the Las Vegas Sun, the number of women coming to Nevada for access to abortion has doubled since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June of 2022.

Data from the Guttmacher Institute shows a 49% increase in abortions in Nevada since 2020. The organization focuses on reproductive health issues nationwide. That’s based on data for the first 10 months of 2023.

Cannizzaro blamed Trump’s Supreme Court appointments for the end of Roe v. Wade, and warned voters that Trump’s next step would be a nationwide abortion ban. “Our state has become an asylum for women seeking abortion access,” she said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen put out a statement vowing to continue her fight against “anti-choice attacks and extreme abortion bans.” Rosen is up for re-election this year. The Republican candidate who leads the pack in fund-raising is Sam Brown, who was a no-show last week when his seven opponents gathered for a debate in Reno.

The Nevada Democratic Party chimed in with criticism of Brown’s record on abortion, saying he tried to hide his record from Nevada voters.

“Here we go again,” said Brown’s campaign manager, Faith Jones. “Sam Brown has consistently stated he stands by the decision of Nevada voters, and he will not support a national abortion ban. Like many Nevadans, Sam is personally pro-life and believes there should be exceptions for the tragic situations of rape, incest, and where the life of the mother is at risk. But Democrats have been given their marching orders from Washington to lie about Sam’s record on abortion because they know they can’t defend Jacky Rosen’s terrible record on the economy and border crisis.”

Nevada’s senior U.S. senator, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, released a statement last week as the Roe v. Wade anniversary approached. She said everything about women’s rights to reproductive freedom is on the line.

“Our voices are key at this moment in time … . It’s not just about these extreme politicians going after abortion,” Cortez Masto said.

“They are stopping women from traveling out of state for health care, they’re trying to criminalize women, and they’re trying to criminalize the doctors for helping them. They’re coming after birth control, they’re coming after mifepristone and the right to get [a] medicated abortion. The Supreme court is going to decide whether banning abortion in emergency rooms and restricting access to the abortion pill is okay.”

Another news release from U.S. Rep. Susie Lee showed Nevada’s Democrats in Congress — Lee, Dina Titus and Steven Horsford — with reproductive rights advocate Nancy Davis, who was forced to travel from Louisiana to New York to access an abortion following a fatal fetal diagnosis.

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