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Facing a tough election in November, the state’s congressional Democrats are looking to energize their base voters as the Supreme Court is expected to overturn the constitutional right to abortion.
Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), who represents the state’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the Las Vegas Strip, said abortion is a key issue for her constituents. Titus is seeking re-election this year and faces a Democratic challenger, Amy Vilela, heading into the primary election.
In an interview, Titus noted that Nevada voters, in a 1990 referendum, enshrined into state law the 1973 Supreme Court decision known as Roe v. Wade, which ruled that women had a constitutional right to abortion. Only another statewide referendum could overturn the right to an abortion until 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“They don’t want to see it changed,” Titus said of her constituents.
But she said if more anti-abortion Republicans are elected, a federal ban could be in the offing, which would pose a threat to the state law.
“It probably would have to be resolved in court,” Titus said.
In that scenario, whether the state chooses to defend the law could depend on the governor and the attorney general, two positions also being contested in November. An anti-abortion governor and attorney general might be less willing to defend the state law.
The top two GOP gubernatorial candidates, Dean Heller and Joe Lombardo, have expressed their moral opposition to abortion. And in a debate Thursday, the top two Republican candidates for attorney general, Sigal Chattah and Tisha Black, who both describe themselves as pro-life, said they would not defend policies they do not support. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak and Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, who are both seeking re-election, issued statements supporting Roe.
Abortion restrictions are expected to disproportionately affect women of color and lower-income women, “and that would be a big part of my constituency,” Titus said.
Titus also stressed that weakened federal protections would result in Nevada becoming a haven for those seeking an abortion, which could stress the state’s resources. Up to 26 states would likely impose bans, according to advocacy group the Guttmacher Institute, should Roe be overturned, as the court is contemplating in the leaked draft opinion first reported by Politico.
“This is about controlling women.”
While Titus’ race is rated as “lean Democrat” by prognosticators, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) all face more challenging re-election bids. Their races are rated as “toss ups” by most election tip sheets.
Speaking to pro-abortion rights group Emily’s List on Tuesday, the day after the Supreme Court story was published, Cortez Masto also sought to nationalize the issue.
“Make no mistake, this is about controlling women,” she said. “Government officials all over the country, many of whom don’t know how women’s bodies even work, are going to be telling us when we can see a doctor and when we can’t.”
The first-term senator’s race is expected to be one of the more intensely contested of the election cycle. The GOP sees the Nevada Senate seat as ripe for the picking given the close margins of victory for Democrats in recent cycles — about 2 percent for Cortez Masto and Hillary Clinton in 2016 as well as President Joe Biden in 2020.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who is not on the ballot again until 2024, has also pitched in to help get the word out to voters. Rosen is chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) Women’s Senate Network for the 2022 cycle, which helps elect more…
Read More: State Congressional Democrats raise threat of national abortion ban – The Nevada Independent