In 1990 is when nearly two thirds of Nevada voters approved a ballot measure to ratify into state law the right to a legal abortion within 24 weeks of pregnancy and this legislative session.

State lawmakers took further steps to protect abortion access.

Joining Nevada Week to talk about that and efforts at the national level is Gabby Birnbaum, Washington, D.C. correspondent for the Nevada Independent.

Gabby, welcome to Nevada week.

Thank you for having me.

All right.

So as you reported, Democrats in the US Senate used the anniversary of Roe v Wade, a reversal to introduce some legislation protecting reproductive rights.

The bill's failed, but as you wrote, quote, The message was clear Democrats will continue to make abortion a marquee election issue heading into 2024.

Is this true for Nevada's congressional Democrats, though, since this is already part of state law protecting abortion rights?

Yeah, so it's absolutely true in Nevada, even though, as you mentioned through that 1990 referendum, the right to an abortion in Nevada has been codified and can only be undone via a state referendum.

Nevada's Democrats banked on successfully in 2022 and are banking on again in 24 that this is an issue that Nevadans care about, regardless of whether it affects them in their day to day.

I think Nevada Democrats have made and are going to continue to make the argument that if Republicans were to take over both chambers of Congress, as well as the White House, they could pass a national abortion ban.

And that's something that would supersede Nevada state law.

So that's an issue that I think they saw was successful for them in 22.

And they definitely wanted to want to make it a big deal in 2024.

How much do Nevada voters care about this issue?

Yeah, so we have data from 2022 in our polling before the midterms.

We found at the Nevada Independent that abortion was the second biggest issue for Nevadans going into that election right after the economy.

So I believe it was 40% of the economy, 17% listed abortion as their top issue.

So I guess the question is, you know, this was all in the this happened right after the Dobbs decision, after Roe v Wade was overturned in the summer of 2022.

The question for both parties, I think, is will abortion continue to be salient, moving it to the next election?

And Nevada voters, I think, in our recent polling have continued to say that this is something they care about.

You know, it's a pretty big consensus.

Nearly two thirds supported that 1990 referendum.

And again today, nearly two thirds would describe themselves as pro-choice.

We found in our polling.

And so it's a question of do those attitudes translate into something that will motivate people to vote for one party or another based on that pro-choice majority?

And is it just Nevada Democrats who care about this or does this issue cross party lines according to that polling you're talking about?

Yeah, I think it depends.

I mean, we saw Governor Lombardo was able to win in 2022.

He described himself as taking a pro-life lens, as I believe, the term he used towards legislation.

And we've seen a bit of a mixed record on him out of the legislature.

He approved a bill, signed off on a bill that permitted travel between states for people seeking abortion.

But he rejected one, codifying the right to contraception.

So I think for Republicans moving forward, it's something that Democrats are going to continue to try to hammer them on, and it'll be up to them to decide how much they want to talk about it, if they want to talk about it at all, particularly since the Republican position for so long has been that this is an issue that should be returned to the states.

The court did that, but in the state of Nevada, it's been pretty clear that abortion is something that Nevadans want to protect.

So it puts Republicans in a bit of an interesting bind.

It sure does.

What about Representative Mark Amodei, the lone Republican congressional member in Nevada?

Where does he stand on abortion?

What has he.

Said?

I've talked to him about it a few times.

I mean, when the Roe v Wade decision or when the Dobbs decision came out, he released a statement basically saying, you know, he's pro-life always.

He thinks it's the right choice and he'll continue in his federal capacity to vote against, you know, funding abortions at any federal level, for example, with provisions like the Hyde Amendment.

He'll vote with the rest of Republicans for that.

But he's also been clear in my conversations with him that Nevada has made its choices, made a choice to support having abortions in the state.

And so a few months ago, when a federal judge in Texas released that decision to ban the FDA from approving if a person, which is one of those abortion pills which is commonly used, that was eventually overturned and the ability to use, the president continues.

But that's something that he said made him uncomfortable, that a federal judge could decide abortion policy for the whole country, given that that was not in Nevadans interest, as have expressed it.

And lastly, as we mentioned, abortion protections are already part of Nevada state law.

But this legislative session, state lawmakers sought to make them part of the state constitution.

Why did they argue that's necessary?

And what comes next for that to become part of the Constitution?

I mean, I think that's a bit of a safeguard against I think what Democrats are worried about, which is the idea that Republicans federally could do a national ban if it's safeguarded in the state constitution.

I imagine that it would go over to the courts.

So I think the idea is to sort of codify it to an even further level, affirm once again, that Nevada is a state that believes in the right to an abortion and make it so that then a state constitution would directly contradict with a federal policy.

If Congress and the president go that route and set up a legal fight.

But I think it also yeah, I think people are in in the aftermath of jobs, people are more concerned than ever, even in a state like Nevada, that has the right to an abortion codified by a referendum.

And so this extra layer of protection, I think, is something that Democrats were interested in giving people an opportunity to vote on.

And that would have to come before the voters again, correct?

Yes.

So I don't as I understand it, I mostly cover the federal side.

But as I understand it, yeah, they have to come before the voters again in another referendum asking, do you want this added to the state constitution?

All right.

Gaby Berenbaum of the Nevada Independent, thank you for your time.