As Joe Lombardo attempts to cover up and hide from his anti-choice stances, Nevadans are speaking out about their abortion experiences and what’s at stake in this election. Lombardo has left the door open to implementing cruel barriers that would limit Nevadans’ access to an abortion, including mandatory waiting periods, ultrasound requirements, and banning contraception.
One week after Governor Sisolak signed an executive order extending protections for abortion providers and out-of-state patients, Lombardo has still yet to answer whether he’d uphold or reverse it–even as Republican governors across the country are working to implement cruel policies to punish women for crossing state lines to receive an abortion.
Read one woman’s harrowing experience seeking a medical abortion under a Republican govenor:
By Kristin Williams
June 30, 2022
Key points:
- After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, our reproductive rights now lie in the hands of governors who have the power to limit or expand access to abortion in their state.
- While I call Nevada home now, I had an abortion while living in Arizona and know all too well how state policies make a difference. During his tenure, Arizona’s anti-choice governor put several laws in place to make obtaining an abortion as difficult as possible — emotionally and physically. Despite needing to end a wanted pregnancy for medical reasons, we had to jump through cruel hoops and that is what drives me to share our story today.
- Our high-risk OB-GYN informed us there was only one clinic which would perform a second trimester abortion. At the clinic, we were forced per state law to see another ultrasound of our son, whose fatal abnormalities were now incredibly obvious. We were then told we couldn’t have our abortion that same day due to a 24-hour waiting period mandated by state law. Twenty-four hours slowly and painfully turned into 48. Still no abortion appointment. Meanwhile, my head was spinning with all of the medically inaccurate information our provider was legally required to share with us.
- In Nevada, we have two choices. Gov. Sisolak has never wavered in his commitment to reproductive freedom, letting Nevadans make their own decisions when it comes to how and when they want to start a family. Joe Lombardo, on the other hand, is standing against the overwhelming majority of Nevadans who back the right to choose.
- Lombardo supports overturning our state’s abortion protections. When asked if he’d limit abortion access, Lombardo said nothing is off the table, including mandatory waiting periods, ultrasound requirements and mandated counseling — all things I’ve been through and wouldn’t wish on anyone. He even said he would “absolutely” consider banning contraception.
- And as governor of Nevada, he could do all of those things. He could also slash funding to family planning clinics and services, which will already be overwhelmed by out-of-state patients as a result of Dobbs.
- With Lombardo on the ballot, everything is at stake. I’m in this fight today to ensure our rights are protected. To ensure others who want or need an abortion have a better experience than I did. And to ensure when Nevadans are making one of the hardest decisions of their lives, people like Lombardo aren’t inserting themselves in a conversation they never belonged in.
Read the full column here.
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