Nevada gov vows to codify order protecting patients into law

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said Wednesday that if he wins re-election he would seek to codify in law next legislative session an order he signed that protects in-state abortion providers and out-of-state patients.

“Governors are the last line of defense in protecting reproductive freedoms,” he said. “The buck stops with us.”

The announcement came in the side lounge of a Reno coffee and wine shop, where he hosted a panel of obstetrician-gynecologists, medical students and reproductive rights advocates to discuss their plans to protect abortion access, as reproductive rights have become central to his re-election campaign in the key swing state and that of Democrats nationwide.

In the days following the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, Sisolak signed the executive order saying that Nevada will not assist other states that try to prosecute residents who travel to Nevada for abortions. It also ensures medical boards and commissions that oversee medical licenses do not discipline or disqualify doctors who provide abortions.

For that order to be turned into law, a lawmaker would have to sponsor the bill and go through the legislative process. Due to Nevada’s biennial legislative structure, it can only be passed in the 2023 or 2025 sessions.

Even in Nevada, where abortion within 24 weeks has been codified into law since 1990, Sisolak has become one of a growing number of Democrats who made the overturning of Roe v. Wade a major talking point. On Wednesday, he said that his role is to “continue the access that exists” and expand funding resources for providers.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Joe Lombardo, an anti-abortion candidate, indicated that he may overturn Sisolak’s executive order but has declined to take a hard position.

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