Judge pauses old Nevada law requiring parental notification for minors to get abortion
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A long-dormant Nevada law requiring parents or guardians to be notified before a minor can have an abortion will not take effect this week following a federal judge’s ruling.
The 1985 law has never before been enforced in Nevada because of court rulings that found it was unconstitutional based on Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that made abortion access a constitutional right for a half century.
The ban on the Nevada’s law was set to expire Wednesday under a recent federal court order citing the 2022 reversal of Roe, but abortion rights activists appealed. That led U.S. District Judge Anne Traum to issue an order Friday saying the law won’t take effect yet to give Planned Parenthood time to ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the law unenforceable while it challenges it.
If Planned Parenthood doesn’t file its request with the appellate court within seven days of Traum’s order, she said the law can be enforced in Nevada. The Associated Press sent emails Monday seeking comment from attorneys for Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood has argued that the 40-year-old law, despite the reversal of Roe, remains “unconstitutionally vague” and that it violates minors’ rights to due process and equal protection.
Abortions in Nevada are legal until 24 weeks, with exceptions to save a mother’s life or to protect her health. In November, a ballot question to enshrine Nevada’s abortion rights in the state constitution received its first nod of approval from voters, who must also approve the measure in 2026 in order to amend the constitution.
Parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion is required in 36 states, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues. Some states require only parental notification, as is the case with Nevada’s law, while other states also require consent.
Nevada’s law also allows a minor to get a court order authorizing an abortion without first notifying parents or guardians.