With Idaho poised to enact one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, Oregon is shoring up access to abortion.
Idaho’s measure would disallow abortion after six weeks and let relatives of fetuses that are subject to the procedure sue abortion providers. According to the New York Times, a similar law in Texas resulted in a 60% drop in abortions in Texas and as much as an 800% increase in demand for abortions in clinics in neighboring states.
Oregon is getting ready for a similar wave, and a possible end to Roe v. Wade, by passing legislation to fund support for those hardest hit by an end to reproductive health care, according to Christel Allen, executive director of Pro-Choice Oregon.
House Bill 5202, passed during the 2022 Oregon legislative session, provided $15 million to establish what backers named the Oregon Reproductive Equity Fund. Social justice nonprofit Seeding Justice got the nod to administer it.
The money will be used to help patients obtain abortions by paying for the services as well as logistical help including lodging and travel, according to Allen.
“The Northwest Abortion Access fund has been doing this work already,” she said, adding that they could potentially receive some of the funds.
The money will also be used to expand the network of providers and work towards the goal of making reproductive healthcare accessible for all Oregonians. Allen said.
“Barriers to abortion care have a disproportionate impact on people already facing multiple layers of discrimination,” said Seeding Justice’s executive director, Se-ah-dom Edmo, in a press release sent out by Pro-Choice Oregon. “Those with low incomes, people of color, young people, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals and people who live in rural communities are most impacted by these barriers.”
The ban won’t just impact those in Idaho, who may now need to travel for care. According to Allen, people in Eastern Oregon who go to Boise for healthcare will also lose access to care.
And a report for the Guttmacher Institute shows that a 15-week abortion ban – which will be triggered in about half of U.S. including Idaho if the Supreme Court strikes down the right to an abortion before fetal viability – could mean a 234% increase in people coming to Oregon in need of an abortion.
The right to abortion is protected in Oregon and insurers in the state must cover the cost of abortion.
“With this investment,” Speaker Dan Rayfield, who led the passage of the bill, said in a statement, “we are making a strong commitment to protect people in our state from draconian laws and court rulings at the federal level, and we can mitigate harm caused by abortion bans passed by anti-abortion politicians in neighboring states.”
“Abortion bans are part of a long legacy in this country of efforts to control people’s bodies, families, freedoms and futures,” said Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon Executive Director An Do in a statement.
“Because of layering systems of oppressions, Black and brown pregnant people bear the brunt when abortion is restricted or criminalized,” Do said. “The Reproductive Health Equity Fund is a critical investment to advancing health equity and addressing the existing and emerging geographic, economic, structural, systemic and legal barriers Oregonians and individuals coming to our state face in accessing reproductive health care.”
-- Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker