Judge upholds parental notification for abortion in Nevada

U.S. District Judge Anne Traum on Tuesday ruled that the state can enforce a decades-old law requiring facilities to notify parents or guardians when a minor seeks an abortion. Traum said the law was initially blocked because of Roe v. Wade and that injunction is now void after the pro-abortion ruling was overturned.

What happens now? Traum said the law will take effect on April 30, which will give the opposition the chance to file motions challenging the change. Nevada law only protects unborn babies after 24 weeks of pregnancy and state voters in November voted to enshrine abortion into the state constitution. After 24 weeks of pregnancy, Nevada does not protect unborn children in cases where a doctor finds an abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.

How did we get here? State lawmakers approved the measure in 1985 but a federal judge later that year issued a preliminary injunction to freeze the law. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991 issued a similar ruling. After the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, a group of Nevada district attorneys sued to remove the injunction.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report about Republicans calling on Congress to defund Planned Parenthood.