(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Nevada judge strikes down reproductive rights initiative petition [1]
[]
Date: 2023-11-22
RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - A judge in Carson City District Court has struck down a petition guaranteeing reproductive rights in the Nevada Constitution.
On November 11, 2023, Judge James Russell listened to arguments for and against the initiative petition.
Jason Guinasso with the Coalition for Parents and Children argued the petition covered more than one subject which is against Nevada law. He told the judge, the petition doesn’t just mention reproductive rights, but abortion, birth control, prenatal care, and post-partum care. Not only that, Guinasso said the petition as written protects those who provide that care as well as those who facilitate that care.
Guinasso called it “log rolling” where the petition may address a topic the voter is interested in, then adds other subjects the voter may not know about. He also said the petition, if it ultimately became part of the constitution, would be an unfunded mandate, costing taxpayers here in Nevada.
Planned Parenthood, The American Civil Liberties Union, and Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom disagree with Guinasso’s assessment. Attorney Bradley Schrager who represented the group said show an 8th grade biology class the petition and ask them what the subjects had in common, they would answer “reproduction.”
The initiative petition supporters say they will appeal this decision to the Nevada State Supreme Court.
“We are optimistic about the ballot initiative as a whole, and you know, we plan to appeal this,” says Lindsey Harmon with Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom. “And we know that in fact, these are all a single subject.”
Guinasso says this petition is a disservice to the Nevada voters.
“This initiative clearly violated the statue with regards to the kinds of initiatives that should be presented to the public,” he says. “So, we can have an open and transparent debate.”
Judge James Russell said in his decision Tuesday, this was not a tough call.
“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.”
Harmon says her group prepared for court action opposing the reproductive rights initiative petition. She says they penciled this into their master plan and if the Nevada Supreme Court rules in their favor in January or February, the group still has time to collect more than 100,000 signatures statewide by June.
Guinasso says he will argue again, the petition as written is confusing to the voter who may not understand what he or she is signing on to or is ultimately voting for.
If the initiative petition gains enough signatures, it will appear as a question on the statewide Nevada ballot in November of 2024.
It must pass at that time, and again in 2026. At which point the Nevada Constitution would include a guarantee of reproductive rights.
Copyright 2023 KOLO. All rights reserved.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.kolotv.com/2023/11/22/nevada-judge-strikes-down-reproductive-rights-initiative-petition/
Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/
