Submitted by Heather Goulding
Like many Nevadans, I have found myself staring, wide-eyed, at an unexpected positive pregnancy test. I had two young children running around my feet at the time and was shocked to find myself among the rare cases of a failed IUD. Continuing a pregnancy with an IUD in place is risky, and removing it carries a high probability of miscarriage.
In the post-Roe United States, there are areas of our country where the legal implications of removing an IUD from a pregnant person are unclear because of the high rate of resulting miscarriages. Luckily, in Nevada, healthcare providers aren’t forced to consider legal jeopardy when advising patients facing this situation.
It used to feel unthinkable that in the US we could be stripped of our right to make critical, deeply personal, reproductive healthcare decisions, decisions that carry profound implications. But here we are in a post-Roe era where red-state politicians impose restrictions on people and situations that they know nothing about, forcing doctors to make decisions and recommendations based on legal threats instead of offering the best available medical care to their patients.
Because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the right to reproductive control of our bodies is no longer protected by the U.S. Constitution, Nevadans should explicitly add this right to our state constitution.
Why add a constitutional amendment when Nevada already protects the right to abortion in state law? Because the most secure way to ensure all Nevadans retain this essential personal right is to give it the highest level of legal protection available, inclusion in the state constitution.
To amend Nevada’s constitution, a majority of voters must support the initiative in two consecutive elections. To that end, Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom filed a petition to place a question on the 2024 ballot to protect reproductive rights in the state constitution.
In response, the Coalition for Parents and Children sued to block the effort on the assertion that it violated the single-subject rule. District Court Judge James Russell agreed with their complaint. The case is now making its way to the Nevada Supreme Court.
But reproductive rights are not limited only to the right to have an abortion. Reproductive rights also include the right to fertility treatment, prenatal care, safe childbirth, and contraception. This is why the proposed amendment is not limited strictly to abortion access. And why it affects far more people than just those who are seeking abortions. It will protect your right to control all of your reproductive decisions.
My unintended pregnancy ended in miscarriage when my doctor removed my IUD. I am forever grateful my physician was unencumbered by legal threats and was able to provide me with the best medical care possible. All Nevadans deserve that quality of care as well as the power to make their own healthcare decisions.
Nevadan’s freedom to make profoundly private health care and family planning decisions is consistent with the state’s long history of defending individual rights. A constitutional amendment protecting access to a full range of reproductive health care is the right choice for Nevada.
Heather Goulding is a community advocate in the West University neighborhood of Reno.
Submitted opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of This Is Reno. Have something to say? Submit an opinion article or letter to the editor here.
