Judge strikes down bid to codify abortion rights into Nevada’s constitution

A judge in Nevada struck down a proposal earlier this month that would enshrine abortion rights into the state's constitution.

District Judge James Russell ruled that the proposed reproductive rights ballot initiative was too broad and said the decision to strike it down came easy, according to Kolo8 News.

"Again, it is clear to me this is probably the clearest case I have seen that I think there is a violation of the single subject rule," said Judge Russell. "I just, 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."

Judge Russell's ruling came after hearing arguments from Jason Guinasso with the Coalition for Parents and Children. Guinasso told the judge that the initiative opened the doors to "log rolling" because it covered a variety of topics, including ones the voter could be interested in, but also others that they may not know about.

Guinasso said that the petition might address a subject that a voter is passionate about, but then could add more topics that the voter might not know about due to its broad variety.

The petition was filed on behalf of Planned Parenthood, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom. The group said that they would file an appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court.

Lindsey Harmon with Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom said, according to the outlet, "We are optimistic about the ballot initiative as a whole, and you know, we plan to appeal this. And we know that in fact, these are all a single subject."

The initiative upon success plans to add a new section to Article 1 of the Nevada Constitution, ensuring "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."

Abortion rights have been a primary focus among pro-choice voters since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Democrat-controlled states have enacted legislation to make the states abortion sanctuaries. While Nevada's initiative might have been struck down, Ohio residents voted to enshrine abortion up until birth into its state constitution in the election earlier this month.