Alert: ACLU-NV to Argue in NV Supreme Court Against Personhood Initiative

On April 6, 2010, women's rights and health advocates, including the ACLU of Nevada, will ask the Nevada Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling that prevents the "Personhood Nevada" petition, an initiative that seeks to ban a range of reproductive health services in the state, from being placed on the ballot. Lee Rowland, an attorney for the ACLU of Nevada, will be arguing before the court.

On January 8, Judge Russell of the First Judicial District declared the initiative invalid, finding that the petition was vague and misleading.

Three plaintiffs – an individual woman, a pharmacist and an obstetrician-gynecologist – challenged the petition on November 12, 2009. The plaintiffs argued that the initiative proposes far-reaching changes to the Nevada Constitution and laws by attempting to define a person to include a fertilized egg, is misleading and fails to give voters a clear explanation of the changes it proposes and its intended purposes and effects. The petition seeks to ban all abortions and commonly-used forms of birth control, and could interfere with the ability of doctors to treat life-threatening pregnancies and infertility.

Lawyers on the case include John Griffin, Jason D. Woodbury and Severin A. Carlson of Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer & Fiorentino in Carson City; Lee Rowland and Maggie McLetchie of the ACLU of Nevada; Mimi Liu of Planned Parenthood Federation of America; and Diana Kasdan and Jennifer Dalven of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.

The women's rights and health advocates' brief is available at: www.aclu.org/files/assets/Respondents__Answering_Brief_201003262.pdf