Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Contraception Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to enshrine right to contraception, family planning services in state law
Summary
Assembly Bill 176 would establish a statutory right to contraception and family planning services in Nevada; advocates, medical societies and reproductive‑health organizations testified in support and the bill’s sponsor said the reprint limits the measure to contraception and excludes schools.
Assembly Bill 176, presented by Assemblymember Selena Torres‑Faucette, would establish a statutory right to contraception and family planning services in Nevada. The sponsor told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee the reprint narrows language to focus on contraception and explicitly excludes application to schools.
Torres‑Faucette described prior Nevada measures that expanded contraceptive access — including laws allowing pharmacists to dispense contraceptives and requiring insurer reimbursement for pharmacist services — and said AB 176 is intended to create a statewide, cohesive framework that removes barriers to contraception and family planning. “This bill does not address abortion,” Torres‑Faucette said, and she pointed to amended language and a line‑reference excluding applicability to NRS 442.250 and schools.
Speakers representing reproductive‑health organizations, professional medical societies and survivor‑support groups testified in support. Denise Lopez of Nevada Campaigns for Reproductive Freedom for All said the bill protects individuals’ ability to make private decisions about family formation and urged committee passage; Jacqueline Winn of the Nevada State Medical Association and Sarah Adler of the Nevada Advanced Practice Nurses Association and ACOG’s Nevada section also voiced support.
Other proponents highlighted broader public‑health and safety benefits: Riley Spencer of the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence said access to contraception helps prevent reproductive coercion and can reduce survivors’ reliance on abusive partners. The Nevada Women’s Lobby and Planned Parenthood also supported the measure.
Torres‑Faucette told the committee that AB 176 had passed the Assembly unanimously after amendments to clarify scope. Committee members asked whether the bill affects school district policy; Torres‑Faucette and staff counsel said the bill as drafted does not restrict school teaching, school nurses or sex‑education policies.
No formal committee vote was recorded during the hearing; sponsors said they would work to secure bipartisan support in the Senate as well.
