Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo approved Senate Bill (SB) 131 Tuesday, becoming one of the first Republican governors to enshrine legal protections for out-of-state abortion patients and in-state providers.

The legislation codifies Executive Order (EO) 2022-08 which was issued by Nevada’s former Governor Steve Sisolak last year. According to EO 2022-08:

Nevada stands firm in its commitment to protecting reproductive freedom for any person seeking access to reproductive health care in this State. Health care professionals lawfully providing, and persons lawfully seeking or assisting others in seeking, reproductive health services should be protected from legal liability premised on, and professional sanctions issued under, the laws of other States when those services are lawful in Nevada and meet the standards of professional practice under the laws and regulations of this State.

While SB 131 does not add any new protections to EO 2022-08, it provides renewed assurance that state agencies will not be able to assist in out-of-state investigations regarding patients who travel from other states to receive abortions in Nevada. The law also empowers doctors who provide abortions to continue their work without fear of discipline from medical boards and commissions.

Abortion is an issue that was key to Lombardo’s 2022 election campaign. According to a statement from his campaign website, Governor Lombardo “is Catholic and pro-life, but Nevadans decided long ago that the issue of abortion should only be decided by Nevada voters themselves.” This statement refers to Question 7, which was on the ballot in Nevada as a veto referendum in 1990. The results of the 1990 election codified NRS 442.250 and legalized abortion up to 24 weeks in Nevada.

Following Governor Lombardo’s approval of SB 131, Majority Leader of the Nevada Senate Nicole Cannizzaro “thank[ed] him for following through on his commitment to ensure that Nevada won’t participate in prosecutions of women who come here to exercise their reproductive rights” in a tweet. Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada tweeted appreciation for Senator Cannizzaro herself, who was a primary sponsor of the bill.

Tuesday’s action makes Governor Lombardo one of few Republican governors who have moved to secure access to abortions. He joins Vermont Governor Phil Scott who signed a bill enshrining abortion protections in 2019.