Oregon lawmakers pass historic Reproductive Health Equity Act

The Oregon legislature this week passed the Reproductive Health Equity Act of 2017, ensuring that every Oregonian can decide when and whether to become a parent — regardless of income, type of insurance, citizenship status, or gender identity and expression.

“This bill fills gaps in our current laws so that Oregonians will be covered for their reproductive health needs whatever their income, citizenship status, gender identity and expression, or however they are insured,” said Amy Casso, gender justice program director of Western States Center.

“As states across the country are stripping women of reproductive health services and coverage, Oregon is leading the way in not only protecting the right to legal abortion but in expanding coverage to ensure that no one is denied access to vital reproductive health services, from contraception to postpartum care,” said Grayson Dempsey, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon.

The Reproductive Health Equity Act will:

• Safeguard the right to abortion if Roe v. Wade were overturned.

• Protect no-cost coverage for preventive reproductive health care for every Oregonian with commercial health insurance if the Affordable Care Act were overturned.

• Expand postpartum care to about 48,000 Oregonians of reproductive age who have coverage for labor and delivery that drops immediately after birth.

• Make safe, legal abortion more affordable and accessible for about 43,000 Oregon women of reproductive age who have high-deductible policies.

• Help more than 18,600 Oregon women of reproductive age who are forced to pay out-of-pocket costs for preventive health services, including contraception.

• Remove procedural barriers that hinder access to essential reproductive healthcare services, including prenatal care and lifesaving cancer screenings, for transgender and gender-nonconforming Oregonians.

“Oregon’s success represents a formidable and proactive resistance to Trump’s agenda to shame, bully and punish women who decide to have an abortion, and to state lawmakers who’ve passed hundreds of new restrictions on abortion in recent years,” said Destiny Lopez, Co-Director of All* Above All.