Nevada Supreme Court halts state's parental notification law

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled last week that a state law requiring parents to be notified prior to a minor's abortion is unconstitutional. The Court's ruling in favor of Planned Parenthood overturned a lower court's decision that had allowed the law to take effect.

Key Takeaways:

• The Nevada Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a state law requiring parental notification before an abortion is unconstitutional.

• Justices ruled against the law because it was "unconstitutionally vague."

• Though originally passed in 1985, the law didn't take effect until last year due to Roe v. Wade and a series of legal challenges.

The Details:

The Court unanimously ruled on May 28 to reverse the lower court's decision to allow the 1985 law to take effect. The law required a minor to inform her parents that she is intending to commit an abortion, or receive a judicial bypass in place of that parental notification. Parental consent for the abortion was not required.

However, in its ruling, the Court decided that the law cannot stand because it is "unconstitutionally vague" as there was no firm guideline defining a "reasonable effort" to notify parents. It also determined that the judicial bypass procedure was vague.

“The lack of specificity arguably leaves it up to each potential investigating agency and thereafter, judge, to arbitrarily decide what effort is sufficient,” Chief Justice Douglas Herndon wrote.

Nevada Right to Life, which had advocated for the law, said the court "abandoned our children."

"On May 28, the Nevada Supreme Court betrayed Nevada's children. It struck down Senate Bill 510, a law that asked one simple, humane thing: before a doctor performs an abortion on a girl under 18, her parents deserve to know. Not to give permission. Not to give consent. Simply and solely to know. Now that protection is gone," the group wrote on social media.

The Background:

Though the parental notification law was originally passed in 1985, it was declared unconstitutional and, because of Roe v. Wade, never took effect. Following Roe's reversal, previously dormant laws including the notification law started to take effect, leading to a quick challenge by the abortion industry.

What followed was a series of back-and-forth rulings. In April 2025, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect so that Planned Parenthood could file a motion contesting the law both federally and at the state level. The case made its way to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which refused to suspend the law, allowing it to finally take effect. Planned Parenthood filed another lawsuit to stop the law, which was denied by a judge in September 2025. That ruling led to the Supreme Court's final say last week.

The Bottom Line:

The idea that a young girl can get an abortion without her parents ever knowing is extremely troubling. Today, schools aren't allowed to give out pain relief medication without parental consent. Abortion is a serious, life-altering, (and life-ending) procedure.

With this ruling, the court has determined that the abortion industry, which thrives on secrecy and lies, matters more than parents.