Oregon House passes sweeping bill to guarantee access to abortion, gender-affirming care

[RandySF]

Democrats in the Oregon House passed a sweeping bill intended to guarantee access to abortion and gender-affirming care Monday evening after a grueling day of debate and parliamentary motions from Republicans who adamantly oppose the measure.

House Bill 2002, a top priority for Democrats in the legislative majority, represents the state’s response to last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and ending the national right to abortion. Abortion remains legal in Oregon and must be provided at no cost to the patient because of a 2017 law.

But legislators and others who met in private last summer feared that laws in other states criminalizing abortion would affect Oregon providers. The 46-page bill that resulted focuses on protecting gender-affirming care as well as reproductive rights, both personal medical decisions under attack in Republican-led states.

“A series of basic rights in our country came into question that had decades of precedent behind them,” said Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, as he introduced the measure.

Nosse decried criticism from Republicans, who have focused on tales of young girls obtaining abortions and the regret or medical complications experienced by some people who obtain abortions or gender-affirming care, as “misleading and provocative.” House Speaker Dan Rayfield, a Corvallis Democrat, repeatedly urged Republicans to mind their language and stick to talking about the bill’s provisions.




https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2023/05/01/oregon-house-passes-sweeping-bill-to-guarantee-access-to-abortion-gender-affirming-care/