LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's been a year and a half since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, which ultimately overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and opened the floodgates for states to pass legislation banning or restricting abortion.
Abortion access remains intact in Nevada, though, thanks to a 1990 voter referendum that safeguarded abortion rights for up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
"We want to make sure that those patients know that here in southern Nevada, they are welcome and they are safe," said Adrienne Mansanares, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which covers a region spanning several western states, including Nevada.
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Nevada's policies preserving abortion access are why women from abortion-restrictive states continue to flock to the silver state for care, even 1.5 years post-Roe. Mansanares said the number of out-of-state patients seeking abortion services at Planned Parenthood's southern Nevada clinics has tripled since the 2022 SCOTUS ruling, and that demand remains steady.
"About half of the patients that are accessing abortion care are coming from out of state. The majority of those folks are traveling all the way from Texas," Mansanares said as she detailed what Planned Parenthood's two southern Nevada clinics are seeing.
Women aren't just coming here from states like Texas, though. Some are coming from places where it's still legal, showing how abortion laws affect patients and providers even outside the jurisdictions they govern.
"We see patients in our Las Vegas health center that may have traveled from Colorado or New Mexico, where abortion care is available, it's accessible, but the appointments have been blocked out by people who are traveling," she said.
Mansanares said Planned Parenthood recognizes the lengthy journey many women make to come to Nevada for abortion care, adding that many of them already have children and are tasked with not only finding transportation and lodging but childcare, too. Furthermore, many advocates feared the overturning of Roe v. Wade would affect minority women most acutely, and Mansanares said that's evident in the women they're seeing making cross-country journeys to Nevada for care. Mansanares said they've taken extra care over the last year to make their clinics inviting for those patients who've made the long trek to Nevada, offering refreshments upon their arrival. She said they've also worked with a network of private donors who've helped sponsor women's journeys for abortion care post-Roe.
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To accommodate the surge they're seeing at their clinics, Planned Parenthood has hired more staff and increased telehealth services, freeing up space for out-of-state patients in their Nevada clinics.
Mansanares adds that wait times have improved since the Supreme Court's consequential ruling in 2022, back when it could have taken as long as 21 days to get an appointment.
"I am so proud that we have reduced that wait time to less than 3 days at this point, and we even have walk-ins that come in that we're able to help with a medication abortion. We'll figure it out," Mansanares said.
While abortion access has been decided in Nevada — at least for now — it's expected to be on the ballot in other states in 2024, and those decisions can directly impact clinics and patients here in the valley.
