Commentary
Page 12
Street Roots • Sept. 21 -27, 2018
Keep abortion safe, legal
and affordable for all
BY EMILY McLAIN
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
“There’s a sorry situation in the United
States, which is essentially that poor women
don’t have choice. Women of means do.
They will, always.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg made these
remarks at Duke University School of Law
three years ago, but her words are more
resonant than ever in 2018.
“Let’s assume Roe v. Wade were
overruled and we were going back to each
state for itself,” she continued. “Well, any
woman who could travel from her home
state to a state that provides access to
abortion.... So if you can afford a plane
ticket, a train ticket or even a bus ticket, you
can control your own destiny — but if you’re
locked into your native state then maybe
you can’t. That we have one law for women
of means and another for poor women is not
a satisfactory situation.”
This is why Planned Parenthood
Advocates of Oregon fights every day to
keep abortion not only safe and legal — but
also accessible and affordable. Rights don’t
matter if you can’t access them and afford
them.
■ Kavanaugh has argued for
“bosses overriding women’s
access to birth control.”
■ Kavanaugh has ruled in favor
of the government’s overreach to
block a woman’s access to
abortion.
■ One of Kavanaugh’s former
clerks even stated that “no court
of appeals judge in the nation
has a stronger more
consistent record” than
Kavanaugh on
“enforcing restrictions
on abortion.”
■ Kavanaugh praised a
dissent in Roe, calling the
constitutional right to
abortion a “freewheeling”
reading of the Constitution.
In addition, Dr. Christine
Blasey Ford has bravely brought
forward a specific and
documented account of sexual
violence by Kavanaugh.
It’s also why Planned Parenthood PAC of _
These serious allegations are
Oregon educates voters about which
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of arguments against access to
abortion, birth control and health
care:
candidates trust women to make their own
personal medical decisions — regardless of'
income, race, gender,
sexual orientation,
immigration status or
ZIP code. We are
K® matter how you leel about
ready to shift the
balance of power in
abortion^ no one shonfid be
2018 by electing
denied health care because
leaders who will stand
they cannot afford It« Measure
with and fight for all of
IOS w ill not make abortion go us.
away; It w ill just snake xt more
When Justice
unsafe«
Ginsburg was
appointed to the U.S.
Supreme Court 25
years ago, she gave
real answers and
affirmatively declared the constitutional
right to safe, legal abortion.
In contrast, during his confirmation
hearings, Brett Kavanaugh avoided more
than a dozen opportunities to say whether
he believes women have a constitutional
right to abortion. He even refused to say
whether he agreed with Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor’s very basic statement that a
woman’s right to make her own
reproductive decisions is connected to her
overall equality. The only thing that
Kavanaugh would say about Roe is that it’s
“settled precedent”
Let’s be clear: Just because Roe is a legal
precedent doesn’t mean it can’t be
overturned. Kavanaugh knew what he was
doing by parroting this canned response.
We already know how Kavanaugh would
rule on Roe because Donald Trump told us
so: He promised to only nominate justices
who would overturn i t And looking at
Kavanaugh’s record, you can see a history
ISTOCK IM A G E
Em ily M cLain is the
Executive Director o f
Planned Parenthood
Advocates o f Oregon
an d Planned
Parenthood PAC o f
Oregon. For more
information visit
PPAOregon.org.
further disqualifying and cement
that h eis unfit to serve on the
highest court in the land. As a health
care provider, Planned Parenthood has seen
firsthand the devastating consequences for
people in states like Texas, where politicians
have restricted access to abortion. Patients
are traveling hundreds of miles, crossing
state lines and waiting weeks to get an
abortion, if they can access services at all.
These barriers often have a
disproportionate impact on communities of
color, who already face systemic barriers in
accessing quality health care. If Roe is
overturned, it will become impossible to
seek or provide legal abortion in some
states.
Fortunately, Gov. Kate Brown signed
landmark legislation last year that
safeguards abortion rights in Oregon if Roe
is overturned. The Reproductive Health
Equity Act also expands access to the full
range of reproductive health care - from
family planning to postpartum care to safe,
legal abortion — regardless of income,
gender identity or citizenship status.
Gov. Brown is a steadfast champion at a
critical time for women’s health and rights,
and Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon is,
proud to endorse her for re-election. Her
opponent, Knute Buehler, is masquerading
as a moderate, but he voted against the
Reproductive Health Equity Act and has
promised to restrict access to abortion in
Oregon.
Oregon voters will also face a dangerous
constitutional amendment that would reduce
access to health care for the most
vulnerable Oregonians who already face
significant barriers to receiving high-quality
care. Ballot Measure 106 is a backdoor ban
on abortion that would impact more than
250,000
women on the
Oregon Health Plan, as well .
as more than 75,000 teachers, nurses,
firefighters and other public employees.
Nearly 400,000 Oregonians could lose the
ability to decide when and whether to
become a parent if we don’t all turn in our
ballots and vote NO.
No matter how you feel about abortion,
no one should be denied health care
because they cannot afford it. Measure 106
will not make abortion go away; it will just
make it more unsafe. We do not want to see
abortion made inaccessible in Oregon. We
urge you to pledge to vote no on Measure
106 at NoCutsToCare.com.
These are fights we can win. Americans
across the board support access to abortion.
Support for Roe v. Wade is at a record high,
with more than 70 percent of Americans
supporting access to abortion - including a
majority of Democrats, Independents and
Republicans.
Just last year, grassroots momentum won
a seemingly “impossible” fight when we
stopped Trumpcare in its tracks. Those
same issues are mobilizing grassroots
efforts against the nomination of Brett
Kavanaugh, against Knute Buehler and
against Ballot Measure 106.
For thousands of Oregonians across this
state, this fight isn’t political, it’s personal.
Reproductive freedom is the foundation of
opportunity for individuals and their
families. And we will never stop fighting for
them. Please volunteer, donate and VOTE
to make sure we protect access to safe and
legal abortion.