12, 2018
Conversation
Page 5
There are constantly aatl»aberllea b ills introduced Into oar
(OregoaJ leelslatnre, but we h a w a pro-ehol^e m ajority
doesn^t let them see the lig h t of dayB I f s Important lo r people to
remember that we don't lir e In a pro-choice utopia where we don't
h a w to fig h t those things M a ll the time« I f the mafeeop of o u r
legislature were Io change^ 1 th in k we would see more threats Io
abortion access and reprodnctlw healthcare."
_
GRAYSON DEMPSEY
I E X E C U T IV E D IR E C T O R A T N A R A L P R O -C H O IC E O R E G O N
D EM PSEY, from page 4
G.D.: In 2017, we passed the
Supreme Court nomination, Roe v. Wade
comes up, because it is one of the most
threats to women’s reproductive rights, such Reproductive Health Equity Act (House Bill
3391). One of the most historic things it did
pivotal of decisions, but I do think the
as the recently-imposed domestic gag rule
was codify the right to legal abortion in
Trump administration has shown itself to be
and the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26
Oregon - and we were aware at that time
the most hostile to reproductive rights in
decision in NIFLA v. Becerra, which gave
that something like this could happen.
modern history, and knowing that now in his
religiously-motivated pregnancy crisis
It was right after Trump had been elected first two years he’s going to have the ability
centers the right to exclude abortion from
and Neil Gorsuch had been confirmed, and
to appoint two justices, with the potential of
the options they present to pregnant
there was starting to be a real concern
appointing more - yeah - I feel like the
women.
about a situation in which the Supreme
pressure feels greater.
Many of these crisis centers masquerade
Court could potentially reverse a decision on
as health clinics and have been found to give
Roev. Wade, so with the Reproductive
women misleading information about
Health Equity Act, we put measures into
E.G.: Are there any cases working their way
abortions. A 2015 NARAL Pro-Choice
place to protect abortion here in Oregon.
up through the courts right now that could
America undercover investigation revealed a
With that said, we (at NARAL) are in the
potentially be the one that overturns Roe v.
widespread pattern of medical
process of doing some legal analysis of how
Wade?
misinformation being conveyed to pregnant
a Supreme Court ruling on abortion, if it
women who visit these centers. For
were to be completely overturned, would
G.D.: The opposition is not being quiet
example, according to its report, “Crisis
impact Oregon’s abortion laws.
about
the fact that they have passed some
Pregnancy Centers hie,” one woman was
I’ve been getting a lot of questions
laws and are challenging some cases
told she would be 400 times more likely to
assuming the Supreme Court decision
because they’are working toward th e case
gei.breastjuancei;i4sh^ had an abortion. „
would be an absolute reversal of Roe &
that would potentially overturn Roe v. Wade.
There are eight pregnancy crisis centers
Wade, and one of the things for us to realize
There are bills right now that have been
operating in Portland and 44 in Oregon,
is while that may happen, there could just
passed that could be laying the groundwork.
according to crisis center Lifecall’s website.
continue to be decisions that undermine
women’s ability to access abortion.
In that case, our laws could be threatened
E.G.: We won’t know until July 6, the day
Emily Green: What exactly does Roe v.
in ways I can’t even speculate about
this article publishes, if the initiative to stop
Wade do in the first place?
The Supreme Court could pass a decision publicly-funded abortions for lowlncome
women in Oregon (Initiative Petition 1) will
that isn’t a complete reversal of Roe v. Wade,
Grayson Dempsey: Roe v. Wade made
but that says now abortion is no longer legal' have enough Signatures to qualify for the
abortion legal in this country because of a
November ballot. I f it does, what parts of
past 12 weeks, or that all clinics have to be
right to privacy, meaning a woman had a
Oregon’s Reproductive Health Equity Act and
set up as ambulatory surgical centers, or
right to make decisions about her body
other reproductive-health laws will it threaten?
that federal funding will be pulled - this is
under the right to privacy, up to the point of what’s happening right now with the gag
viability of the pregnancy, which is generally rule.
G.D.: Initiative Petition 1 and the
deemed to be around 24 weeks.
Reproductive Health Equity Act impact
I think Oregon is in a great position, one
Before that, states had individual laws on
different communities. Reproductive Health
of the best in the country, to protect our
the books that made abortion legal in some
Equity Act impacted private insurance that
reproductive rights and our access to
states but not legal in others. That’s why the abortion, but I also know that there are
was purchased through the Oregon
general assumption is that if Roe v. Wade
exchange, and IP 1 would amend the
threats out there that we can’t know how to
were flat-out overturned, it would kick the
constitution to ban public funding for
respond to in Oregon until they appear.
matter back to state legislators. A lot of anti
abortion care, which would mean women
who are covered by Medicaid and state
abortion advocates have used that as sort of
employees who are covered by publicly
a caveat to say, “It wouldn’t criminalize it
E.G.: Have you been feeling a greater sense
across the nation, it would just kick it back
funded health plans.
of urgency this past week, or have you been
We had a great victory last year for
to the states, and then the states could
feeling the same sense of urgency since
women covered by private insurance, and
decide.” That’s a way to make it seem like it November 2016?
what the proponents of IP 1 are doing is
wouldn’t be such a horrible thing, but there
trying to attack people who are often the
G.D.: I’ve been in some state of full
are four states right now that have trigger
most vulnerable, meaning women who are
blown panic since November of 2016, but I
laws, so if Roe v. Wade were to be
covered by Medicaid and state-funded health
do think it was just such a shock to see the
overturned, they would instantly make
kinds of decisions that the court was issuing plans. The legislature really took a bold step
abortion illegal.
in codifying women with private insurance’s
last week, with the travel ban, with NIFLA
In many states there is nothing in statute
right to have no cost sharing for
v. Becerra, with Janus v. AFSCME. I think
saying abortion is legal. I think that if Roev.
reproductive health services, and the
Wade were to be overturned, there would be that even if Justice Kennedy hadn’t retired,
proponents of IP 1 are using this ballot
last week would have really reminded us
a lot of legislative fights at the state level
measure to really try to attack all of the
that we are living in a time when we have a
about which states could and couldn’t
.people who are not covered by House Bill
Supreme Court that is not standing up for
provide abortion services.
3391.
the values of the majority of Americans, I
think that really did ratchet up the heat on
that feeling of urgency and panic.
E.G.: I f Roe v. Wade were overturned, what
E.G.: Are there other local threats to
I’ve been doing this work for 19 years,
effect would that have on Oregon’s laws?
women’s reproductive rights?
and I know that every time there’s a
G.D.: There are constantly anti-abortion
bills introduced into our legislature, but we
have a pro-choice majority that doesn’t let
them see the light of day.
. It’s important for people to remember
that we don’t live in a pro-choice utopia
where we don’t have to fight those things off
all the time. If the makeup of our legislature
were to change, I think we would see more
threats to abortion access and reproductive
healthcare.
Another really big threat facing us is the
Title X domestic gag rule, where we could
potentially see clinics choose between losing
their funding and being able to offer
medically accurate information to their
patients, as well as how crisis pregnancy
centers are going to be emboldened after
the NIFLA v. Becerra decision. We know
c r isis p r e g n a n c y c e n te r s w ill o ft e n s e t
themselves up across the street from
Planned Parenthood clinics or give
themselves names that sound more like
health clinics than politically- and religiously-
motivated counseling centers. I think with
the decision of the Supreme Court last
week, that’s a real threat. Those crisis
centers are everywhere, and Oregon is no
exception.
E.G.: Can you give me a sort of menu of
things the average Oregonian can do to help
preserve local access to reproductive health care
at this time?
G.D.: It’s making sure they’re registered
to vote, paying attention and holding their
representatives accountable. We would love
it if people would join NARAL’s email list,
get involved and make themselves available
for us to share information with them. They
should support, through volunteerism and
through donations, local organizations that
are doing this work on the ground in
Oregon. It’s all of the things that people
have probably said a hundred times, but
that’s what really makes a difference.
After the 2016 election, we got flooded
with volunteers, which was great but what
we needed is for people to show up, not in
November, but when legislative session
started. There was an apathy gap - they
were fired up in November, and not so much
six months later.
We need people to pick up the phone and
call during really critical times, or write a
letter to the editor or be part of a canvass
day where we go out and talk to everybody
in a particular neighborhood.
Want to get involved? Visit:
prochoiceoregon.org and click Take Action