Abortion Rights Measure Moves Closer to Nevada Ballot

Nevada abortion advocates announced on Monday, May 20, that they gathered nearly double the number of petition signatures required to place a measure on the November ballot to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution.

Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom President Lindsey Harmon reported that supporters collected and submitted over 200,000 signatures, significantly exceeding the 102,000 valid signatures needed by Wednesday, June 26, to qualify for the ballot.

“The majority of Nevadans agree that the government should stay out of their personal and private decisions … about our bodies, our lives, and our futures,” Harmon stated during a rally of about 25 supporters outside the Clark County Government Center in Las Vegas.

The proposed measure would ensure “a fundamental, individual right to abortion” while allowing regulation of the “provision of abortion after fetal viability…except where necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant individual.”

Election officials in all 17 counties must now verify the signatures, a process with an uncertain timeline.

In 1990, Nevada voters approved a law making abortion available up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. However, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there has been a push to further abortion access.

Several Republican-controlled states have tightened abortion restrictions or bans, while 25 states, including Nevada, allow abortions up to 24 weeks or later with limited exceptions. Most states with Democratic legislatures, including California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and Vermont, have implemented laws or executive orders to protect abortions.

Melissa Clement, Nevada Right to Life director, expressed opposition, saying her organization will continue to fight the proposed amendment in courts and at the ballot box. She criticized the Democrat-controlled legislature for politicizing a difficult and traumatic decision for women.

The effort to secure the measure on the ballot follows two tracks.

To amend the Nevada Constitution, voters must approve a measure twice. If the abortion amendment qualifies and is approved this year, it will go before voters again in 2026.

Additionally, Nevada lawmakers passed a 24-week right-to-abortion measure last year along party lines, setting up another vote in the next legislative session in Carson City. If it is approved, the proposed constitutional amendment will appear on the 2026 statewide ballot.