A leaked Supreme Court majority draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade has elicited strong reactions from abortion rights advocates in Oregon.
The President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon calls it “a dark day in the history of our country.” Lisa Gardner said the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court is acting in defiance of most Americans who support safe and legal abortion access.
“The outcome of this is as dangerous as it is unprecedented,” she said. “The Supreme Court decision will open the floodgates for states across the country to ban abortion. That means that 36 million women, nearly half of the women of reproductive age in the United States, could soon lose abortion access.”
In Oregon, the right to abortion is codified in statute, Reproductive Healthy Equity Act of 2017. According to Thomson Reuters Findlaw site, "Oregon was one of the first states to legalize abortion, and the right to an abortion is protected in the state constitution. There are no designated waiting periods or mandatory ultrasounds or counseling. And while some states have “trigger laws” waiting to prohibit abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Oregon is the opposite, with a law waiting to preserve legal abortions in the state."
Gardner and other advocates around the state say they are prepared to provide abortion care for women traveling from states where bans are poised to take effect if Roe is overturned this summer.
Although the timeline is unclear, Planned Parenthood plans to open a clinic in Ontario- in eastern Oregon- to serve women including those traveling from Idaho who seek legal abortion care. The Idaho legislature passed a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That law is temporarily blocked by the state’s Supreme Court.