Nevada legislature relaxes abortion restrictions News
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Nevada legislature relaxes abortion restrictions

The Nevada State Legislature relaxed abortion restrictions Tuesday with the passage of new law reducing consent requirements and criminal penalties.

The new law, SB179, reduces the threshold for women to reach informed consent and potential criminal liability for providers. Previously, women were required to submit informed written consent including proof of age and marital status. The writing, age, and marital status requirements were removed. Several other sections of the existing law around the description of the procedure were simplified and a requirement of verification by the physician was removed. Lastly, the bill removes criminal penalties both for providers of abortion who do not comply with the requirements of the existing law and for women who undergo an abortion not in compliance with the law.

The bill comes in sharp contrast to other recent abortion laws either creating outright bans or limiting abortion to as little as six weeks after conception. The latest abortion restriction was just passed Tuesday in Louisiana. The bill passed 27-13 with Democratic State Senator Yvanna Cancela saying “When the rest of the country may feel hopeless, may feel bleak, they should look to Nevada as the shining beacon that we are for women’s rights.” Lawsuits against the various other state abortion laws have already been filed in the ACLU and are expected to be a significant topic for various federal courts in the coming months.