Ahead of the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, NV Dems Chair Daniele Monore-Moreno hosted a press call with AZ Chair Yolanda Bejarano and health care workers to underscore the ongoing threat Donald Trump and MAGA extremists like Sam Brown and the entire far-right slate of GOP congressional candidates pose to reproductive freedom in Nevada and throughout the country, especially for Latinas and communities of color.
In the Senate race, Sam Brown has repeatedly supported abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest, including an extreme abortion ban in Texas that was considered one of the “toughest restrictions in the country.” In the race for Congress, John Lee made his opposition to reproductive freedom a central part of his messaging during his failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign, vowing to be “the most pro-life governor in the history of Nevada.” Mark Robertson supported the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and according to Drew Johnson’s website, he accepted the endorsements of two members of the far-right Freedom Caucus and said he is “honored” to count on them.
Since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision the number of out-of-state patients traveling to Southern Nevada to receive an abortion has doubled. The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a near-total abortion ban from 1864 has extreme impacts on Nevada’s health care system. Last year, 534 patients traveled from out of state to seek an abortion in Southern Nevada. Due to surrounding states’ abortion bans Nevada’s abortion providers are seeing 30% of their patients come from out-of-state, which is overwhelming Nevada’s health care system.
“A woman’s decision to start a family is the biggest economic decision that she will make over the course of her lifetime, and she should be able to make that decision herself with the help of her family and her doctor,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno. “If given the chance, Donald Trump would strip away reproductive freedom from thousands of Nevadans and Arizonans. We are united behind President Biden and must re-elect Democrats up and down the ballot to preserve our rights.”
“Like Nevada, Arizona is a battleground state in the fight for reproductive rights,” said Chairwoman of the Arizona Democtatic Party Yolanda Bejarano. We decided to come together today not only because extreme Arizona abortion bans are affecting the level of care states like Nevada can provide,But because our states are critically important in the national battle against Donald Trump and his extreme anti-abortion agenda.”
“With the fall of [Roe], I’ve had lots of patients walk in my clinic and ask, will I be able to have contraception next year,” said Dr. Danielle Allen-Herried, AZ OBGYN. “Those conversations should be things that I discuss with the patient based on their family values and where they are in their life and what they need, not based on the government and if we elect Donald Trump and these Republican folks in Arizona, specifically, I fear that I’m not going to be able to provide that care as an OBGYN.”
“Nevada is a safe haven state, but we have been seeing an influx of folks from Utah, Texas and, of course, our neighbors down south in Arizona,” said Jakki Durón, health care worker. “Folks who can’t afford abortion care that often starts at $600, let alone taking time off work, finding childcare for their families, airfare, gas, food, hotel, all of those really costs add up. Everybody, regardless of where you live, who you are, what you look like, should be able to access quality healthcare.”
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