The topic of abortion has blanketed the news of late-- with stories of statewide bans, federal legislation protections and threats to the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v Wade. Here’s a check-in on where Oregon stands on the issue.
Lisa Gardner is President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. She said she can’t think of a time that women’s reproductive rights were not under attack, somewhere.
“We have a long history in Oregon of protecting these rights,” she said, “but, I also want to make sure that people listening understand that it’s not chiseled in stone that this will be the case forever.”
Gardner said if the constitutional right to abortion is undermined, the impact would be felt everywhere. She added Texas’s new law (Senate Bill 8) which, bans abortion at the detection of cardiac activity, has affected local clinics. “We here in Oregon are seeing the impacts of women seeking health care outside of the state of Texas.”
Gardner sits on the National Action Fund Board of the Planned Parenthood Federation and participated in the Women’s March for abortion rights in Washington D.C last Saturday.
Want to hear more? Check out this extended interview with Lisa Gardner, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon.
