On May 28 the Nevada Supreme Court made the unanimous decision of halting enforcement of the state’s abortion parental notification law, allowing teens to access abortion services without being mandated to inform their caregivers. The ruling comes in response to a case filed by a Nevada physician and Planned Parenthood against a 1985 parental notification law that had been blocked under Roe v. Wade and was first enforced beginning in July 2025.
While the state Supreme Court’s decision grants only a preliminary injunction while the case proceeds through the lower courts, it marks a momentous step in addressing the current barriers to abortion access for teens even in abortion-protective states.
Four years after the landmark Dobbs decision swiftly unraveled half a century of progress and bodily protections, about two-thirds of adolescent girls in the United States are living in an area with a complete abortion ban, gestational limits, or parental involvement laws (laws requiring parental consent or parental notification for a minor to obtain an abortion).
Even in states with more liberal policies, teens continue to face major obstacles to abortion access. Currently, 38 states mandate that adolescents seeking an abortion obtain parental consent, notify their parents, or do both, creating significant and disproportionate barriers to care for teens compared to adults.
