Archbishop George Leo Thomas is urging Catholics to vote no on Nevada Question 6, warning that the measure would allow abortion into the ninth month and take parents out of a minor’s decision.
From the pulpit Sunday, the Archdiocese of Las Vegas asked Catholics across five counties to reject the ballot question, which would write abortion into the state constitution. Abortion is already legal in Nevada but this would expand it in the extreme.
Thomas’ pastoral letter was read at Mass in the archdiocese’s 34 parishes.
“This question is not whether abortion is legal in Nevada; it already is under a law approved by Nevada voters in 1990,” Thomas wrote. “The Legislature cannot amend or repeal that law; only a direct vote of the people can do so.”
“This question is whether Nevada voters should expand the right to abortion in ways that can harm the health, safety, and welfare of women and minors,” he wrote. “Moreover, this measure will have grave and lasting consequences for vulnerable unborn lives.”
Thomas said the amendment “dangerously expands abortion rights.”
“Abortion, already legal in Nevada up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, would potentially be permitted to the ninth month of pregnancy,” he wrote.
Existing law allows abortion without restriction up to 24 weeks, and after that “only if the physician has reasonable cause to believe that an abortion currently is necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.” That is essentially abortions up to birth but the amendment would confirm that.
The proposed amendment does not set a week limit. It would guarantee a “fundamental right to abortion performed or administered by a qualified health care practitioner until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.” Viability would be judged by the treating practitioner as “a significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”
Babies survive as early as 21 weeks – meaning the amendment would confirm it’s legal to kill viable babies in abortions.
The official argument against the measure, written by attorneys Emily Mimnaugh and Jason Guinasso, says, “Question 6 has no bright-line rule saying when abortion is legal. Is it always legal at 4 months? 6 months? 9 months? Our current law is clear. Question 6 is not.”
Thomas also said the amendment “ratifies removal of parental notification and family involvement from abortion decisions made by minor children.” “Parental consent is required to give a student Tylenol; this initiative would allow a minor to obtain an abortion without a parent even knowing,” he wrote.
In an interview, he said supporters are saying little about that change.
“I think that right now, part of the strategy for those who are proffering this position is to keep the public in the dark,” Thomas said. “I think that the whole thing around parental involvement would be a very huge issue for a vast majority of families, and so there’s very little being said or written about it.”
In May, the Nevada Supreme Court temporarily blocked a law requiring parents to be notified when minors seek an abortion, ruling that it is too vague to enforce. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and an unnamed Nevada physician are challenging the 1985 law, which took effect in July 2025 after a federal judge said the overturning of Roe v. Wade removed the basis for keeping it blocked.
Thomas said Question 6 would “replace the ‘licensed physician’ requirement for abortion with ‘health care practitioner,’ a term that could include nurses, dentists, opticians and medical laboratory technicians” and “severely threatens the State’s ability to regulate abortion clinics for basic health, safety, and sanitary conditions.”
“Unborn children have no voice and cannot defend themselves,” he wrote. “As Catholics, our faith requires us to protect the inherent dignity of every human life and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
Voters approved Question 6 once in 2024, with 64.4 percent in favor. A constitutional amendment must pass in two consecutive general elections, so it must pass again in November to take effect.
The Nevada Catholic Conference, which includes the Diocese of Reno, also opposes the measure. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has read a letter opposing Question 6 from the pulpit, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
About 750,000 people are registered with parishes in the archdiocese, which covers Clark, Nye, Lincoln, White Pine and Esmeralda counties. Pew Research figures for 2023-24 say 21 percent of Nevada adults identify as Catholic.
“It’s all uphill for us,” Thomas said.
