By Representative David Gomberg, District 10
This past week marked two opportunities to recognize people who make a real difference in our communities and who have faced unimaginable challenges these past two years.
Teacher Appreciation Week helped us say ‘thank you’ this week, and every week to the extraordinary educators who have worked tirelessly with students and families to keep things moving forward, despite such an unpredictable year.
National Small Business Week honors the entrepreneurs in our communities who have played their part in bringing new ideas to life and growing our economy. Small businesses account for half of America’s workforce, and more new jobs come from small businesses than any other source.
Thank you – to teachers, small employers, and all of you who work so well to make our communities better, more livable, and more sustainable!
My mailbox has been overflowing this week with comments and concerns about the leaked draft of what appears to be a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving questions of reproductive freedom to the states. That decision will make little difference in Oregon whether an individual has the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.
Oregon state law expressly affirms an individuals’ right to choose an abortion without interference from the government.
The Reproductive Health Equity Act, updated in 2017, allows for late-term abortions, requires private medical insurance and state Medicaid to cover an abortion, and codifies the right to gender-affirming care, among other protections. Ours is among the strongest reproductive choice policies in the nation. Because health access in Oregon is governed by laws enacted by its state Legislature, rather than by a court’s interpretation of the state constitution, a sudden change to those policies is unlikely.
Oregonians have shown little interest in changing the state’s policies. Five ballot measures restricting abortion have been rejected by voters since 1986. In 2014, 63 percent of Oregon adults said they thought abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to polling done by the Pew Research Center.
The Oregon Health Authority tracks and reports induced abortions performed in Oregon. An induced abortion is an intentional procedure carried out to end a pregnancy, as opposed to a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage. The number of abortions reported in Oregon in 2020 and 2021 were the lowest of any years that OHA has tracked. Both nationally and in Oregon, the abortion rate has been declining and is now half that seen in the 1990s and early 2000s.More than half of abortions in America are now done with pills, rather than surgery.
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