Nevada has now become the 18th state to allow low-income pregnant women to use Medicaid funds to pay for abortions. This decision comes after the state government declined to appeal a judge’s ruling earlier this year that found denying coverage for abortions violated Nevada’s equal rights protections adopted by voters in 2022.
The ruling judge has stated that the coverage should begin no later than early November. This ruling has been applauded by organizations such as the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, who sued in the case. They believe that this decision will prevent Medicaid recipients in Nevada from being forced to carry a pregnancy against their will.
The issue of abortion has become a key voter issue across the country since 2022 when the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which had federally guaranteed abortion access for women for half a century. Most GOP-controlled states have implemented bans or restrictions on abortion, while most blue states have moved to protect and expand access.
In Nevada, whose legislature is controlled by Democrats, the state has taken steps to protect access to abortion. Voters in the state will consider enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution in November, with a second vote for approval in 2026. However, even in states where abortions are readily available, the issue of Medicaid coverage for the procedure remains.
Under a 1977 law, federal funds are prohibited from paying for abortion except in specific circumstances such as rape, incest, and when abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person. States are allowed to use their allocations to pay for abortion under certain circumstances, but most follow the federal law for state funds, with some additional exceptions.
The Guttmacher Institute reports that seventeen states cover abortion without limitations, with nine under court orders and eight covering abortion voluntarily. Roughly one-third of American women between the ages of 15 and 49 live in states where abortion is accessible and Medicaid covers abortion but only in limited cases. About one in five women in those states has Medicaid insurance coverage, with those on Medicaid being predominantly low-income, Native American, and Black.
