(James Bopp, Jr.) – On Monday, March 31, 2025, Nevada’s federal court lifted its previous order, issued in 1991, which barred enforcement of Nevada’s requirement that parents be notified when their minor children seek an abortion (“parental-notice law”).
The parental-notice law will therefore go into effect on April 30, 2025. This grants the relief pursued in this case, Glick v. Ford, by Stephen B. Rye, Lyon County District Attorney, and Garrit S. Pruyt, Carson City District Attorney, and supported by Nevada Right to Life.
The parental-notice law was issued in 1985, and the order blocking it was based on the abortion “right” announced in Roe v. Wade. District Attorneys Rye and Pruyt argued that because the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overruled Roe, no basis remains to block the law.
The district court agreed with that argument, finding that because the basis for the order blocking the parental-notice law was gone, the injunction against the law had to be lifted. The district court rejected the various arguments of Planned Parenthood of Mar Monte (“Planned Parenthood”), which contended that the parental-notice law should continue to be blocked.
Notably, this included the district court’s determination that, because Dobbs overruled the legal basis for the 1991 order, there was no basis for the court to consider any other legal or equitable factors. The court also found insufficient Planned Parenthood’s claims that the order should be upheld on other constitutional grounds.
Nor should the parental-notice law be controversial.
Parental notice laws protect minors who are incapable of making a mature decision from choosing abortions and, by involving parents, protects parents’ rights to supervise the upbringing and education of their children.
While under the parental-notice law a custodial parent or guardian must be notified before a physician performs an abortion on a minor, it contains several commonsense exceptions. Specifically, parental notice is not required if the physician believes an abortion is immediately necessary for reasons of life or health. Nor is it required if the minor is married or emancipated.
Furthermore, courts may grant a waiver of the parental notice requirement if the minor proves (a) “she is mature enough to make an intelligent and informed decision”; (b) she is “financially independent or emancipated,” or (c) the notice “would be detrimental to her best interests.”
Melissa Clement, Executive Director of Nevada Right to Life, which provided vital financial support for the litigation, said:
“For 40 years, young girls have been exploited in secrecy, their suffering ignored while those in power turned a blind eye. Today, that silence is broken. Parents will finally be involved, and protection will replace the neglect that allowed predators to thrive. The abortion industry has profited off hidden procedures, enabling abuse in the shadows. But no more—Nevada is taking a stand, demanding accountability and ensuring that never again will innocence be sacrificed for secrecy.”
James Bopp, Jr., of The Bopp Law Firm, PC, and counsel for District Attorneys Rye and Pruyt, says:
“The district court’s order marks a major victory for all Nevadans and for constitutional governance. The order blocking the parental-notice law became baseless, and therefore unlawful, under the controlling precedent of the Supreme Court as soon as Dobbs was decided. This common-sense law is vital to protecting both minors who have been targeted by predators and the parents of those minors.”
The district court’s order can be found here.
The Bopp Law Firm, PC was founded by James Bopp, Jr. to provide legal assistance to individuals, advocacy groups, candidates, and Political Action Committees (“PACs”) navigating the ever-changing fields of not-for-profit tax law, Campaign Finance, Election Law, First Amendment and Constitutional Law, Strategic Planning, Supreme Court Practice.The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
