A Nevada judge has rejected a petition by pro-abortion groups to include a question on the 2024 ballot that seeks to establish access to abortion as a constitutional right throughout the state.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, District Court Judge James Russell declared that the proposed measure—intending to amend the Nevada Constitution to ensure a right to “all matters relating to pregnancy,” including infertility care, birth control, vasectomy, abortion, and prenatal and postpartum care—is overly expansive to be included on the ballot as a single-subject question.
“The Petition embraces a multitude of subjects that amount to logrolling,” Mr. Russell wrote in the opinion, noting that the pro-abortion petitioners failed to offer any explanation as to how all those subjects are “functionally related” to each other.
“For instance, it is unclear how a vasectomy relates to infertility care or postpartum care,” he wrote. “Likewise, it is unclear how postpartum care is related to abortions or birth control. Thus, it is improper to characterize these broad categories as a ‘single subject.’”
“The Legislature could not reduce ‘reproductive health’ to a single statute, let alone a single statutory chapter,” the judge added.
Furthermore, Mr. Russell pointed out that the question would