Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Friday, March 26, 2010 | 4:11 p.m.
Sun Archives
- State Supreme Court to rule on petition to ban abortion (2-25-10)
- Judge: ‘Personhood’ abortion petition too general for November ballot (1-8-10)
- Anti-abortion groups oppose petition aimed at ban (11-17-09)
- Challenge to Nevada personhood initiative expected (11-12-09)
- Anti-abortion bid may have unintended effect (10-26-09)
CARSON CITY – The language in an initiative petition that seeks to ban abortions in Nevada is so vague that voters would never understand the consequences, the American Civil Liberties Union says.
The brief, written by Lee Rowland, northern coordinator for the ACLU, asked the Nevada Supreme Court on Friday to keep the issue off the ballot.
The court has set oral arguments for April 6 in Las Vegas.
A group called Personhood Nevada wants to add the following to the Nevada Constitution: “In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.”
Rowland says the proponents want the word “person” to mean fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses, which he says would stop abortions.
If Personhood is successful in the Supreme Court, it would still have to gather the signatures of 97,200 voters by June 15 to put it on the ballot. It would have to be passed at two elections.
Rowland said, “no matter how much proponents try to emotionalize this litigation, if the initiative were to be placed on the ballot Nevadans would have no idea what they are actually voting on.”
The ACLU is also representing Planned Parenthood of America Inc. and is asking the Supreme Court to uphold the decision of District Judge Todd Russell, who ruled the initiative petition improperly contained more than one subject and the petition failed to give adequate notice to residents what they would be voting on.
Russell ruled the petition could not appear on the ballot.
Personhood, in appealing Russell’s decision to the Supreme Court, contended there is no requirement that there be specific references to abortion, fertilized eggs, embryos or fetus. The petition maintains every human being from the beginning of life shall be considered a person entitled to life, liberty and property protection.
Rowland said this case is not about the issues but whether Personhood Nevada complied with Nevada law in drafting its initiative petition and whether voters “will have any notice of the consequences of a vote …”
She said the petition is “drafted so broadly” that it would expand the meaning of the term ‘person’ in not only the constitution but also in “countless statutes, rules and regulations and municipal codes and ordinances…”
The intended consequences, Rowland said, range from banning abortion to prohibiting the use of certain basic forms of contraception, but the petition and its description are “misleading and fail to inform voters of the material consequences of the initiative.”
The initiative is also opposed by four conservative groups that say the language is too vague and may not apply to abortion at all. They are the Nevada Eagle Forum, the Independent American Party, Nevada Families and Nevada Life.
Don't let them vote. The American people are too stupid to understand the issue. Only the elite can make laws. Democracy threatens America. How many other phrases can they use to show their disdain for the American people.
effin ACLU
No, I don't agree with you. Rarely do for that matter. The people of Nevada aren't too stupid to understand the iniative. You are just afraid that good, bad or indifferent, they may vote for it.
The ACLU is finally right about something. Most registered voters have a limited reading and writing level. I was at the DMV few days ago, amazing how many people needed help to fill out the registration forms. Funny and scary.
neiman1 -- and these are the same people who convinced Nevada to make that bad, conflicting constitutional amendment in 2002. What a blot on the state.
greendino -- just a guess, but it looks to me like the ACLU does far more good for Nevada than you do. Grow up.
"Most registered voters have a limited reading and writing level."
lp -- scary, no? Seems the more money spent on public education the dumber the graduates. I'm amazed at how few adults are actually completely incapable of writing even a coherent statement.
"Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends..." - Isabel Paterson 1943 "The God of the Machine"
typical Ron Paul bigots. They call freedom reducing other peoples rights.
Great Nevada, the mormons have offically ruined you.
killed b?
Grow up???
I am grown up. And I have done quite a bit of good for the people of Nevada in many different capacities.
I don't agree with the ACLU and I am entitled to that opinion.
greendino -- you started your post with "effin ACLU." In my opinion that's a very childish way to start a thoughtless post.
lp:
What's even scarier is that (it would seem) half the employees of the DMV can't figure out how to fill out the forms either. I was there the other day. Between the slow customers and even slower employees it was no wonder it took over 4 hours to be called up to register a new car. I was happy I brought plenty of reading material:}
Off topic, I know but I ONLY go to the DMV after 4pm. You cannot believe how quickly the lines move when they're trying to clear the place out and go home for the day. Seriously...go 30 minutes before they close. There is no comparison in wait time.
If the voters in Nevada are so smart why did they vote for George W. the 2nd time and then for Obama?
Speaking seriously, the ACLU serves a vital function, you may not agree with them, but they will fight for your right to say, and think, what you want.
How does the "ANTI-AMERICAN criminal liberties union" have any standing is this case?
"How does the "ANTI-AMERICAN criminal liberties union" have any standing is this case?"
nez212 -- before rebutting I'd like to see your reasons for "ANTI-AMERICAN." Do enlighten me, please.
"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free." -- Clarence Darrow, Address to the Court, The Communist Trial (1920)
The ACLU represents everything wrong with America. If they are for something, it means you should fight against it.