(NewsNation) — Nevada voters have approved a ballot measure to protect the right to an abortion in the state constitution.
This is the first step toward enshrining abortion rights in Nevada. Voters will need to approve the proposal again in 2026 to amend the state constitution.
The proposal protects abortion access until the point of fetal viability, with exceptions to protect the health or life of the pregnant patient. The point of fetal viability is typically around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
In Nevada, abortion is legal until 24 weeks of pregnancy, a law that went into effect in 1990.
Nevada Question 6 was one of nearly a dozen abortion-rights measures that appeared on ballots across the country this November. All but two of the measures are citizen-led — including Nevada’s — meaning they were written by citizen groups and placed on ballots after getting enough signatures.
Lindsey Harmon, whose group Nevadans for Reproductive Freedoms introduced the proposal, told The New York Times that Nevada has always been “overwhelmingly pro-choice” and that the next logical step was to include the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution.
Melissa Clement, who represents Nevada Right To Life, accused Democrats of taking “one of the most difficult and traumatic decisions a woman can make” and using it as political fodder. Clement called the move by the party “despicable.”
Abortion is a polarizing issue that was expected to draw people to the polls, potentially impacting the presidential race in swing states, control of Congress and the outcomes of closely contested state offices.
It was a central issue that drove people to vote in the 2022 midterm elections, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In polling leading up to Election Day, abortion had surpassed inflation to be the top issue in the presidential election for young women.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.