Nevada to Expand Medicaid-Funded Abortion Access
It appears like Nevada will be the 18th state to use Medicaid funding to expand low-income women’s access to abortion.
This week’s formal court ruling which determined that withholding coverage violated the equal rights protections enacted by the state’s voters in 2022 resulted from the state government’s decision not to appeal the decision within 30 days of the written opinion in the case being released. Although the judge stated that the coverage should start as soon as possible in November, Nevada officials have not yet announced when it will start.
Court Ruling on Equal Rights Protection
“People with Medicaid as their health insurance will no longer have to worry about being forced to carry a pregnancy against their choice,” stated Rebecca Chan, an attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, one of the parties that filed a lawsuit in this case.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, which terminated the national right to an abortion, the matter has become a political and legal hot potato. The majority of states governed by Republicans have enacted bans or limitations on abortion. Of these, 14 currently forbid it at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, and four more states typically forbid it after about the first six weeks of pregnancy. Most states headed by Democrats have taken action to safeguard access.
Access is safeguarded in Nevada, where Democrats control the legislature and the governor is a Republican. There will be a second referendum in 2026 if the proposal to include the right to an abortion in the state constitution is approved by voters in November.
Nevada’s Political Landscape on Abortion
Abortion availability is influenced by several factors, including whether or not a state allows abortion and whether Medicaid, the combined state-federal program for low-income individuals, covers the cost of abortions.
Federal money is not allowed to be used to pay for abortions, except rape, incest, and situations in which the pregnancy cannot be saved. This legislation was passed in 1977. However, there are additional situations under which states may spend their allotments to fund abortion.
Most also adhere to federal law for state funding, according to the pro-abortion research group Guttmacher Institute, or do so with a few more exclusions.
However, 17 of them cover the whole cost of abortion. Eight of those cover abortion voluntarily, while judicial rulings mandate nine.
