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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2023)
Page 2 January 25, 2023 Abortion Hotline for Reproductive Rights Oregon launches a free hotline offering legal advice (AP) -Oregon is launching a new abor- tion hotline offering free legal advice to callers, moving to further defend abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court over- turned Roe v. Wade last summer and elimi- nated federal protections for the procedure. The state’s Department of Justice an- nounced the initiative Monday. It is mod- eled on similar hotlines launched by the attorneys general of New York and Del- aware, as states where abortion remains legal have seen an increase in the number of patients traveling from areas where the procedure has been banned or restricted. “The Hotline will fill an important need in our state for callers to understand the status of our reproductive health laws, in- cluding issues related to abortion access,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said. “This is especially important because we share a border with Idaho, which has a near-total abortion ban.” Abortion remains legal at all stages of pregnancy in Oregon, which has worked with California and Washington to pro- mote the West Coast as a safe haven for the procedure. People can call the anonymous hotline from any state for free legal advice and receive a call back from a lawyer within 48 hours. “We expect there might be calls Protesters hold signs protesting against the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Portland, Ore., Friday, June 24, 2022. Oregon's Department of Justice has launched a new abortion hotline offering free legal advice to callers. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) from people from out of state asking what the legal landscape is in Oregon with re- spect to abortion,” said Molly Honore, a lawyer with Markowitz Herbold, a firm helping to staff the pro bono hotline. “We expect there will be questions from pro- viders and questions from people seeking care.” Honore also said she expects calls from people within Oregon seeking clarifi- cation about their rights in the state. Since the U.S. Supreme Court over- turned Roe v. Wade in June, near-total bans on abortion have been implemented in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklaho- ma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Legal challenges are pend- ing against several of those bans. The lone clinic in North Dakota relocated across state lines to Minnesota. Idaho has three separate laws banning abortion. One allows the potential family members of a fetus to sue a health care pro- fessional who performs an abortion; anoth- er makes it a crime for medical profession- als to perform an abortion after electrical activity is detected; and another effectively bans all abortions but allows doctors to de- fend themselves in court by proving that the procedure was done to save the life of the patient. All three bans are in effect statewide, though a federal judge put a small por- tion of the third law on hold while a law- suit is underway. The federal judge said the state could not enforce the third law against health care providers who per- form abortions in medical emergencies at Medicaid-funded hospitals until the lawsuit is over. About 70 lawyers from several local law firms will be working for Oregon’s hotline, said Anna Sortun, a partner at Tonkon Torp, which will be serving as the num- ber’s logistics backbone. She said her firm sought advice from people operating New York’s abortion hotline. While lawyers will only be sharing le- gal advice on the status of Oregon law, they can also provide contact informa- tion for providers and abortion funds if callers need more information on the re- sources available to them, according to state justice officials. The hotline was launched the day af- ter abortion supporters rallied across the country to mark the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v. Wade. Anticipating a spike in out-of-state pa- tients, Oregon lawmakers created a $15 million fund last year to increase access to abortion services. This year, Democrats in the Legislature plan to introduce a bill that would shield patients and providers from lawsuits originating in states where abor- tion is banned or restricted. Diabetes Awareness 1 out of 3 adults in the US have prediabetes, but most don’t know they have it. You can take action and reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Take a free screening or talk to your doctor. “We cannot walk alone.” Martin Luther King Jr. (503) 235-8655 voaor.org/services Diabetes risk factors include: • having prediabetes • being 45 years or older • having a family member with type 2 diabetes • being active less than 3 times a week Change Begins with You We specialize in family safety, substance use disorder, behavioral health, and reentry from the criminal justice system. Let us help you find your pathway to wellness. multco.us/health/diabetes-awareness
