By KATELYNN RICHARDSON
THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR
(The Center Square) — Democrats running for office in Nevada are doing their level best to keep abortion access at the forefront of their campaigns. Their Republican opponents call it a distraction from kitchen table issues harmed by progressive policies.
Gov. Steve Sisolak and U.S. Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., hosted a roundtable discussion Thursday on protecting abortion access in Nevada.
The discussion centered on the potential impact of federal legislation, such as a national abortion ban, on the state’s existing law. It included legal experts like Sylvia Lazos, professor at University of Nevada at Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law, who criticized Gov. Sisolak’s and Rep. Lee’s pro-life Republican opponents as “a real and present danger to abortion rights in Nevada.”
Gov. Sisolak and Rep. Lee have consistently denounced their opponents, gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo and congressional candidate April Becker, over their stances on abortion.
“Gov. Sisolak and I, as well as our fellow Democrats up and down the ballot, are running against pro-life extremists,” Rep. Lee said in a statement. “Republicans have already made clear that they are eager to move on a national abortion ban if they take the majority in Congress, which would ultimately overturn the will of Nevada voters and take away women’s right to choose in our state.”
Rep. Lee, who is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, released a new ad Thursday morning calling Ms. Becker “heartless” for her position and expressing concern about her acceptance of National Right to Life’s endorsement.
Both Gov. Sisolak and Rep. Lee have taken actions to signal their support for abortion since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Rep. Lee voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act, and Gov. Sisolak issued an executive order shielding abortion providers and women who travel to Nevada for an abortion from legal liability.
Meanwhile, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., announced her support of the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act Thursday morning.
“Crisis pregnancy centers consistently mislead vulnerable women about the health care services they provide,” she wrote on Twitter. “I joined my colleagues in cosponsoring the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act to crack down on false advertising about abortion services by these fake clinics.” The bill, endorsed by more than a dozen Democratic senators, would enable the Federal Trade Commission to penalize organizations with “deceptive or misleading advertising related to the provision of abortion services.”
