Nevada voters will have the chance to further safeguard abortion access in the state.

Ballot Question 6 asks if the right to abortion should be codified in the Nevada Constitution.

If the measure receives a majority of "yes" votes next month, it will reappear on ballots in the 2026 general election for final approval.

State law has guaranteed abortion access in Nevada for more than 30 years, going back to 1990 voter referendum safeguarding abortion protections through 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The women’s reproductive rights organizers behind Question 6 have said the existing provisions were outdated and not permanent. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, the coalition spearheading the ballot measure, began looking at issues related to Nevada’s abortion law in 2018 during the confirmation of conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The possibility of then-President Donald Trump appointing additional conservative justices with the intent of overturning Roe v. Wade was a looming concern on the minds of many reproductive justice advocates at the time.

“We started looking at our own statutes and our own limitations and decided that the next best thing was to enact a constitutional amendment,” said the coalition’s president, Lindsey Harmon.

Under current law, the 1990 provision would require a single vote from the majority of Nevadans to be undone. Enshrining abortion into the state constitution would make it harder to remove access and would require a separate ballot measure — along with a required two votes of the public — to be overturned.

In the aftermath of losing national protections for abortion in 2022, Nevada has become a reliable host to those seeking abortion care from outside states.

Patients come, primarily to Las Vegas, from states like Texas and Utah — where Republican lawmakers have pushed legislation limiting women’s reproductive rights.

“If this abortion amendment did nothing, then they wouldn’t have fought me in court at every turn, and they would be willing to go to a vote of the people,” Harmon said about the opposition to the measure. “I think what they realize is this really does permanently protect abortion access in the state of Nevada and makes it nearly impossible to come after once it’s in the state constitution.”

Harmon’s mention of court cases refers to the ballot initiative’s challenges in court that began last year. In November, the measure had even been struck down by a judge, and its future seemed uncertain until the Nevada Supreme Court reversed that decision.

Nevada Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, has been an open voice against the measure.

Krystal Minera-Alvis, communications director for Nevada Right to Life, said Question 6’s impact on abortion in the state would be to “take it to the extremes.”

“If we just talked about what the current law in Nevada is, abortion is already legal. It’s already legal for up to six months,” Minera-Alvis added.
Minera-Alvis also said that “no one’s pushing for an abortion ban.”

“Specifically in our state, no one is talking about anything besides literally holding the line where it is right now,” she said. “There is no problem with the current law as it is right now, at least with the safeguards that it has.”

The language of the measure has been an important aspect for those against it.

“It’s some of the most vague language that we have seen,” Minera-Alvis said. She said the phrasing “drops the standards so low for women to receive the least amount of care possible.”

Question 6 still maintains that the abortion is performed “by a qualified health care professional until fetal viability” — which is usually 24 weeks — “or when necessary to protect the health or life of the pregnant individual at any point during the pregnancy.”

The initiative has also been criticized for being funded primarily by out-of-state donors or “dark money” organizations, which are often groups that are not required to publicly disclose donors.

In response to that critique, Harmon said ballot initiatives were expensive and important, especially with an issue that has national, widespread attention, such as abortion rights.

She added that people across the country care about Nevada’s reproductive health care because of the challenges people face in nearby states.

Harmon said if the measure were to pass in 2026, she anticipates additional challenges to the amendment’s validity or how it’s enacted. She added that she was prepared for regulatory issues or elected officials who push legislation that would skirt the amendment.

“It’s definitely going to be challenged,” Harmon said. “So, there’s no stopping this movement. We have to continue to stay vigilant.”

The initiative’s organizers have expressed confidence that Question 6 will receive the majority of votes this year, but Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom has a plan if it does not.

Harmon said the coalition had a referral of a ballot initiative from the last legislative session, and then it could go to the ballot in 2026 with that language.

“We have really done our due diligence in making sure that we have crossed our t’s and dotted our i’s at every step,” Harmon added.

haajrah.gilani@gmgvegas.com / 702-990-8923 / @haajrahgilani