The Surprising Reason Nevada Hasn’t Repealed a 1911 Abortion Ban

This posture did not change, even after Donald Trump won the election. “They had ample opportunity to decide to create protections for people and change some of the old laws, and they just decided they weren’t going to,” said the source, who, like other people in this story, didn’t want to use their name for fear of professional retaliation.

A group of activists who supported S.B. 139, and who didn’t know about that summer agreement, wondered what was happening with the repeal effort. In a late-March meeting, Nguyen reportedly told them that the bill didn’t have enough votes to advance. One source at the meeting recalled Nguyen saying, “We don’t want this to impact Question 6” and that she needed the support of groups like Planned Parenthood Nevada Votes to get reelected. (The state chapter of Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly known as NARAL, is also part of the coalition for the citizen-led ballot measure but is letting Planned Parenthood take the lead on legislation.)

“Here we are in this time where Democrats really need to be standing up. Why are we cowering?” this person said. They added that they “can’t understand the logic” of how erasing the old law would affect passage of the amendment. “People being like, ‘Yeah, they repealed an ancient statute,’ that’s not going to be a reason people aren’t going to vote [for Question 6],” they said.