Politics and Policy

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KUNR 2022 Election Coverage

Stories from the KUNR newsroom and regional partners related to the 2022 elections

Cortez Masto visits with UNR students, women who helped codify abortion access in Nevada

KUNR Public Radio | By Lucia Starbuck

Published October 14, 2022 at 4:25 PM PDT

Cortez Masto stands at a podium indoors. There are women on either side of her, young and old, holding dark blue signs that read “Bans off our bodies.” — Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto speaks about protecting access to abortion at a campaign event at the University of Nevada, Reno on Oct. 14, 2022.

Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto spoke about abortion access with a small group at the University of Nevada, Reno on Friday.

Two older women stand at a podium indoors, embracing each other. There are young women behind them holding dark blue signs that read “Bans off our bodies.” — Laura FitzSimmons (left) and Maggie Tracey helped lead the effort to codify abortion protections in the state constitution in 1990. They spoke at a campaign event by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto at the University of Nevada, Reno on Oct. 14, 2022.

Cortez Masto, who is running for re-election, shared the podium with students and some of the women who led the effort to codify abortion protections in the state constitution in 1990, including Laura FitzSimmons, who drafted the referendum petition.

“I am so grateful to see the one thing Dobbs has done is energize women who don’t remember, as we unfortunately do, losing family members, losing friends to back alley abortions,” FitzSimmons said.

Republicans, including Cortez Masto’s opponent, Adam Laxalt, have taken a backseat approach to the issue, saying the decision has been settled by voters and won’t change. However, advocates say that isn’t good enough – and argue anti-abortion republicans will chip away at Nevada’s protections.

Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.