LAS VEGAS (AP) — A long-dormant 1985 state law in Nevada — requiring parents or guardians to be notified before a minor undergoes an abortion — can be enforced, a federal judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Court Judge Anne Traum in Nevada said in a written decision that the 40-year-old law can take effect on April 30, but the judge also left open the possibility for abortion rights advocates to seek a court order blocking its reinstatement while they challenge the law's constitutionality.
The requirement has never before been enforced in Nevada because of a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found it was unconstitutional based on Roe v. Wade. But after the Supreme Court reversed the landmark decision in 2022, stripping away constitutional protections for abortion, a group of district attorneys mostly in rural Nevada sued to restore the 1985 law.
Planned Parenthood argued that the 1985 law, despite the reversal of Roe, remains “unconstitutionally vague” and that it violates minors’ rights to due process and equal protection.
But Traum, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, said in her decision that “whether the statute is unconstitutional for another reason has not been fully litigated nor is that question before the Court in this motion.”
Emailed messages seeking comment Tuesday were left with attorneys for Planned Parenthood.
James Bopp Jr., a lawyer representing some of the district attorneys, told The Associated Press that the law would protect “vulnerable, immature girls from making a decision that has life-altering consequences for themselves.”
Abortions in Nevada are legal until 24 weeks, with exceptions to save a mother’s life or to protect her health. In November, a ballot question to enshrine Nevada’s abortion rights in the state constitution received its first nod of approval from voters, who must also approve the measure in 2026 in order to amend the constitution.
Parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion is required in 36 states, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues. Some states require only parental notification, as is the case with Nevada's law, while other states also require consent.
Nevada's law also allows a minor to get a court order authorizing an abortion without first notifying parents or guardians.
FILE - People rally in support of abortion rights, May 21, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
MILAN (AP) — Overall World Cup skiing champion Federica Brignone was still smiling Friday despite the very real possibility that her Olympic dream could be over.
Barely 24 hours after breaking multiple bones in her left leg during a giant slalom crash, Brignone posted a photo from the hospital of her grinning and holding up two fingers in a victory sign.
Brignone underwent an operation at La Madonnina clinic in Milan on Thursday night after a crash at the Italian championships earlier in the day.
Surgeons found that she had also torn her ACL in a further setback for the 34-year-old Italian's hopes of competing at a home Olympics in 10 months. She was expected to be one of her country's stars of the Milan-Cortina Games.
“As usual, I do things big or I don’t do them!” Brignone wrote in an Instagram post. "This time I did it huge (negatively).
Brignone also thanked those who had treated her on the slope, as well as the surgeons and other medical staff, and her friends for “keeping me company and making me laugh.”
The Italian Winter Sports Federation described the surgery as a “complete success,” but said the “rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament was also highlighted” and would be evaluated in the coming weeks.
The Italian star was diagnosed with multiple fractures in her tibial plateau and fibula bone, the federation said.
Surgeons also made a “ligament repair of the medial compartment of the knee,” the federation's statement said late Thursday.
The operation was led by federation medical chief Andrea Panzeri.
Brignone was the race leader at the Lusia ski area in Val di Fassa but in her second run she crashed through a gate and lost control, prompting her to tumble and crash through the next gate, too. She was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Trento before being transferred to Milan.
Before the surgery, Panzeri had estimated that Brignone would be out for “months.”
“In the happiest moment of my career that was really the last thing I needed,” Italian news agency ANSA quoted Brignone as saying earlier Friday. “There was still a month of work ahead of me and I couldn’t wait to do it.
“Instead I will have to face a new challenge into which I will put my all, as always.”
Brignone, who won the giant slalom at the world championships in February, also won 10 World Cup races across three different disciplines (five giant slaloms, three super-Gs and two downhills) this season. At 34, she became the oldest woman to win a World Cup race.
One of those World Cup wins came in a super-G on the Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina that will host women’s Alpine skiing at the Milan-Cortina Olympics next February — her first career victory at the venue.
“I am sure she will be back on the slopes, in a month – and I’m talking from experience – she will already feel better,” said Italian former skier Deborah Compagnoni, who won two of her three Olympic gold medals after a serious injury.
“She has grit and character, she’s a tiger, she knows how to fight, she will give her all to return and manage this period as best as possible. I had some wonderful races after my injuries, and I wish that for her too.”
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Italy's Federica Brignone speeds down the course during a giant slalom at the Italian championships in the Lusia ski area, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Elvis Piazzi)
Italy's Federica Brignone is assisted before being flown by helicopter to an hospital, after she broke multiple bones in her left leg during a giant slalom crash at the Italian championships in the Lusia ski area, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Elvis Piazzi)
Italy's Federica Brignone is carried away on a toboga after she broke multiple bones in her left leg during a giant slalom crash at the Italian championships in the Lusia ski area, in Val di Fassa, Italy, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Elvis Piazzi)
