Judge pauses abortion parental notification law from going into effect in Nevada

A federal judge paused a decades-old Nevada law set to go into effect April 30 that would require doctors to notify parents of a minor seeking an abortion.

U.S. District Judge Anne Traum granted a request from Planned Parenthood last week to stop the law from going into effect until the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resolves a motion for a pending appeal that Planned Parenthood plans to file.

Traum ordered that Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which covers Nevada and parts of California, must file its motion within seven days. If it doesn’t, the pause of the parental notification law will expire, according to the court order.

Once the 9th Circuit makes its decision, Planned Parenthood must inform Traum within five days of the order. If the 9th Circuit denies Planned Parenthood’s motion, Traum will issue an order lifting the pause.

The Nevada law has gone unenforced since it was enacted in 1985. It was set to go into effect at the end of April after Traum ruled that since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there was no longer a legal basis that allowed a longstanding injunction to prevent the parental notification law from going into effect.

It will require the parental notification of a minor’s intent to have an abortion. Minors for whom notification would not be in their best interest can circumvent the requirement via a court order, according to the ruling.

The law, passed as Senate Bill 510 in June 1985, was sponsored by Las Vegas Republican state Sen. Ray Rawson, who served from 1985 to 2001. A federal court granted an injunction to keep the law from taking effect, and the injunction was made permanent in 1991.

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that effectively overturned the precedent established by Roe v. Wade, district attorneys in Nevada’s rural counties moved to lift the permanent injunction.

Andrew Adams, chief of staff and head of strategic communications for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, said the organization is grateful for the administrative stay issued by the District Court while the organization seeks a stay pending appeal from the 9th Circuit.

“The 40 year-old law — that has never been enforced — is vague and leaves abortion providers and young people across Nevada without necessary guidance about how to comply,” Adams said in a Monday statement. “While we hope this archaic law never goes into effect, we are also reaching out to the Nevada attorney general to seek guidance on how to comply with the vague law, if necessary.”

Adams previously stressed concerns about the law’s vague directions, saying it does not state how the notification should take place or how much time should elapse before sending a letter to the guardian.

Melissa Clement, executive director of Nevada Right to Life, called the judge’s decision an “extreme disappointment” Monday.

“A young girl, whether she’s 10, 12, even 17, facing an unexpected pregnancy, she should have those that love her the most and know her the best — her parents — involved in any medical decision she would make, most especially one with this kind of physical and psychological risk,” Clement said.

A young girl does not know what her blood type is or what medical issues she should be concerned about, Clement said.

“That’s a parent’s job,” Clement said.

Clement noted that the 1983 law does not give parents a decision-making ability, but simply allows them to be involved. If the girl does not feel comfortable letting her parents know, there is a judicial bypass process she can take to receive an abortion without informing her parents, Clement said.

Opponents of the law have argued that the judicial bypass process adds hurdles that will in turn force minors to become parents.

Pause on parental notification law by Jessica Hill on Scribd

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com.