Press Release Nevada
Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada Endorses Governor Steve Sisolak for Reelection
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Contact: [email protected]
Nation’s leading reproductive freedom advocacy group endorses Governor Sisolak at a crucial moment for abortion access
Carson City, NV — Today, NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada, the state chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America, announced its endorsement of Governor Steve Sisolak for reelection. Gov. Sisolak, a champion for reproductive freedom, has signed common-sense legislation that brought Nevada’s laws in line with Nevadans’ values and repealed outdated laws that criminalized abortion. He has also signed bills to expand access to family planning funding and provide emergency contraception to survivors of sexual assault in Nevada emergency rooms—showing his continued commitment to reproductive freedom at a time when abortion access is under unprecedented attack.
NARAL Pro-Choice America Southwest Regional Director Caroline Mello Roberson released the following statement:
“NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada is proud to support Governor Steve Sisolak at this critical moment in the fight for reproductive freedom. Our more than 44,000 Battle Born members in Nevada will be pulling out all the stops to turn out voters and reelect Gov. Sisolak—a proven champion who fights for Nevadan values. Gov. Sisolak has already taken bold action to work towards a future where reproductive freedom is truly a reality for every body. With Roe at risk, Nevada needs leaders who will uphold the will of the people and continue to safeguard reproductive freedom and access to abortion care.”
Governor Steve Sisolak released the following statement:
“I am honored to have the support of NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada after working together for the last three years to expand reproductive freedom and safeguard abortion access. This work has become all the more crucial as we see states enact extreme restrictions on care and as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a challenge to Roe v. Wade. It has never been more important for Nevada’s women and families to have a governor who will fight for them to decide if, when, and how to have a family. Together, we will ensure Nevada continues to expand and champion reproductive freedom.”
In June, Governor Sisolak signed into law SB 364, which will ensure that survivors of sexual assault can access time-sensitive emergency contraception in Nevada emergency rooms. In 2019, Gov. Sisolak signed the Trust Nevada Women Act, which removed antiquated abortion restrictions and brought Nevada law in line with the values of the overwhelming majority of Nevadans. The act, one of the most forward-thinking pieces of legislation on reproductive freedom in the country, marked a historic move by the state to protect and uphold the reproductive freedom of Nevadans.
In contrast, the leading Republican candidate in this race, Dean Heller, used his campaign announcement to confirm that he will pursue enacting “the most conservative” anti-choice laws in the state. This directly rejects the values affirmed by a majority of Nevadans who codified the right to abortion in state statute through a ballot referendum in 1990 and who continue to support reproductive freedom.
The other Republican candidates running in the primary for Governor are also vehemently against reproductive freedom. Joey Gilbert has committed to opposing any pro-choice legislation. Joe Lombardo’s anti-choice view is displayed prominently on his campaign website. John Lee is publicly anti-choice and Guy Nohra has listed abortion as his campaign’s top priority.
Today’s endorsement comes as reproductive freedom and the future of legal abortion face unprecedented threats. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court failed to block Texas’ blatantly unconstitutional SB 8, a law banning abortion at approximately six weeks, before many people even know they are pregnant. This cruel law grants almost anyone the power to sue someone for “aiding and abetting” a pregnant person seeking abortion care and offers a $10,000 or more reward for this vigilantism.
Texas’ SB 8 is part of a broader onslaught of attacks on abortion access in Texas and across the country. This draconian ban on abortion joins over 90 other restrictions on abortion access that have been enacted at the state level in 2021, making it the worst year for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was decided. Amid these attacks, the anti-choice, anti-freedom supermajority on the Supreme Court solidified by the confirmations of Trump’s justices agreed to take up Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban that directly threatens the future of Roe. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in that case on December 1, 2021.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, paid family leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support safe, legal abortion.