NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Bill expands insurance mandate to cover abortions
dubbed Obamacare, could intensify
pressure to pass the bill. Republicans
have made the repeal a first order of
business this year.
The bill is intended to reinforce
and fill in gaps in reproductive health
care coverage under Obamacare and
to expand those who are eligible for
the benefits, said Laurel Swerdlow,
advocacy director of Planned Parent-
hood Advocates of Oregon.
“We remain deeply concerned
with what is happening on the
national level,” Swerdlow said
in a phone interview Wednesday.
“This legislation is on no way to
be a remedy for political attacks
on the Affordable Care Act. This
is legislation to establish coverage
for reproductive health care for all
Oregonians.”
For instance, abortion and vasec-
tomies, services excluded from the
Affordable Care Act mandate, would
be covered under Oregon’s legisla-
tion. Men, transgender individuals
and undocumented immigrants
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
Oregon is joining several other
states that are seeking to protect
no-cost birth control in case the
federal mandate is rolled back as part
of a potential repeal of the Affordable
Care Act.
Most legislation in other
states has focused on preserving
mandatory insurance coverage of
hormonal contraceptives without
a patient copay, with some other
moderate expansions on the federal
act. Oregon’s legislation, however,
reaches far beyond the federal law, to
include abortions, vasectomies and
other services.
Oregon’s legislation — the
Reproductive Health Equity Act —
was in the works well before New
York billionaire Donald Trump won
the November presidential election.
However, Trump’s vow to repeal
and replace President Obama’s
landmark health care law, popularly
Family Forward Oregon, NARAL
Pro Choice Oregon, Oregon Latino
Health Coalition and Western States
Center, Swerdlow said.
Sen. Monnes Anderson intro-
duced similar legislation in 2015,
though it did not include coverage
for men, transgender individuals
and undocumented immigrants.
Bipartisan opposition in the
Senate, however, kept her bill from
progressing to a vote, she said.
Some senators felt covering
abortions could be too controversial,
Monnes Anderson said.
Gayle Atteberry, executive
director of Oregon Right to Life, said
the anti-abortion organization would
oppose the new legislation.
“While Oregon Right to Life
takes no position on true contracep-
tives, we, of course, are opposed to
abortion, which always takes the
life of an innocent unborn child,”
Atteberry said in an email. “Because
of the abortion component, ORTL is
opposed to (the bill).”
would be eligible for the coverage.
“All Oregonians need access to
full reproductive health coverage
for families to thrive, for a healthier
state and for a stronger economy,”
Swerdlow said. “Working families
are under so much strain today, and
oftentimes, they have a hard time
making ends meet.
“What this legislation does is it
recognizes that a right without access
is not a right at all,” she add, referring
to the right to terminate pregnancies.
“What we really want is to make sure
that all persons have access to the
full spectrum of reproductive health
care that they need. We don’t always
know a person’s circumstances. We
aren’t in their shoes.”
Planned Parenthood Advocates of
Oregon was one of several advocacy
groups that worked on the legislation,
sponsored by Sen. Laurie Monnes
Anderson, D-Gresham, and Rep.
Phil Barker, D-Aloha. Others were
the ACLU of Oregon, Asian-Pacific
American Network of Oregon,
BRIEFLY
Ice storm paralyzes parts of Oregon
TROUTDALE (AP) —
An ice storm shut down
major highways Wednesday
in Oregon and Washington
state and paralyzed towns in
the Columbia River Gorge
with up to 2 inches of ice at
the same time rising tempera-
tures in Portland raised the
prospect of flooding after the
largest snowstorm in years.
As temperatures hovered
around freezing, Interstate
84 was shut down for about
45 miles in an area north-
east of Portland and again
farther east due to blizzard
conditions. Transportation
officials had no immediate
plans to reopen the highway
connecting Oregon and
Idaho.
Officials warned Idaho
motorists not to head west
toward Oregon on the
highway where dozens of
semi-trucks with no place to
go were lined up and double-
parked along ramps near the
point of the closure.
“They just towed me out
because they want to clear the
road, but I don’t think I-84 is
back open,” said Brad Cottle,
a trucker who got stuck in the
mess and spent the night in
his cab. “I’m going to have to
go back to the truck stop.”
It was the latest weather
drama in Oregon, which has
days after the overflow ends
because of increased bacteria
in the water.
Officials didn’t yet know
how much sewage had over-
flowed.
Transportation officials
also closed part of a Portland
street Wednesday afternoon
after a landslide.
Bonneville,
on
the
Washington state side of the
Columbia River, had 2 inches
of ice, and Hood River, on
the Oregon side, got 1.5
inches, said Andy Bryant, a
hydrologist at the National
Weather Service office in
Portland.
Meteorologists compared
the scene to severe storms in
1996 and 2004.
“That kind of ice accu-
mulation is pretty unusual,”
Bryant said. “This is a big
one.”
Billy Graham, 57, was
trying to visit friends and
family after driving from
Texas but was stranded at a
Motel 6 along Interstate 84
in Troutdale. He hadn’t been
able to get out of his room,
even on foot, because of the
slick pavement, he said in a
telephone interview.
“I haven’t eaten in a
couple of days,” he said.
“You can’t even walk. If you
do, you fall down.”
AP Photo/Don Ryan
A traffic sign Wednesday alerts drivers on Interstate 84 in
Troutdale of road closures.
been pummeled in recent
weeks by intense snowfall
and uncharacteristically cold
temperatures.
Portland, a city more
accustomed to mild, rainy
winters, was hit last week by
a storm that dumped more
than a foot of snow in some
areas — the third significant
snowfall since December.
The frigid spell — with
temperatures plunging as
low as 13 degrees — is the
second-coldest since 1941.
Temperatures are usually
in high 30s and 40s in the
winter.
Four homeless people
have died of exposure in
Portland. Schools have been
closed for days throughout
the state and businesses
shuttered. Portland’s streets
remained coated with a thick
layer of rutted ice for almost a
week until Wednesday, when
rain began to melt the snow.
Portland generally doesn’t
use salt on its roads during
winter weather but exper-
imented with it in specific
locations after a storm
last month left commuters
trapped in their cars for hours.
Melting snow and heavy
rain caused sewage to
overflow in several locations
into the Willamette River
on Wednesday afternoon,
according to the Portland
Bureau of Environmental
Services. People were urged
to avoid the river for two
Atteberry’s comment raises
the question of whether including
abortion could sink the bill and doom
other benefits such as coverage of
birth control without a copayment.
“I believe that this year there will
be much more pressure to pass this
important bill,” said Sen. Michael
Dembrow, D-Portland. “I believe
that events at the national level will
add to that pressure.”
The bill’s proponents, including
Rep. Barker, said they believe a
majority of Oregonians will support
coverage of abortion. The Legisla-
ture also has a Democratic majority.
“This is a bill sponsored by
two Democrats, and Democrats
are in charge,” noted Rep. Sherrie
Stenger, R-Scio, who sponsored an
unsuccessful bill last year to ban
sex-selective abortions. “That is
probably the most salient point in this
conversation.”
Lawmakers will consider the
proposal during their session, which
kicks off Feb. 1.
Keizer woman
charged in son’s
strangling death
SALEM (AP) — A
woman
was
charged
Tuesday in the strangulation
death of her 12-year-old son.
Amy Marie Robertson
was arraigned, charged
with aggravated murder and
ordered to be jailed without
bail.
Robertson, 38, was
arrested Saturday at her
Keizer home after a neighbor
pulled back a blanket and
found Robertson’s son
Caden Berry unresponsive
in the home, The Statesman
Journal reported.
Robertson’s neighbor,
Brenda King, 65, told the
newspaper she had just
stepped out of the shower
Saturday when one of her
neighbors asked for help
to calm down a panicked
King said she tried to
console Robertson, asking
what was wrong.
“She said ‘I’m just
thinking about my son that
died, and I thought she was
talking about the one who
died in 2011,” King said.
One of Robertson’s sons,
Colby, died by suicide in
2011 at age 12, the news-
paper reported.
Eventually, Robertson
told King her son was inside
the house with a blanket over
his head.
King entered, thinking
maybe Caden was hiding
under a blanket, but found
him deceased.
While King talked with
911 dispatchers, she said
Robertson walked to a
neighbor to ask for a cigarette.
King said Robertson
stood outside the apartment
complex, smoking, until
paramedics and police
arrived.
Corrections
The Jan. 18 story “Hermiston to ask for a bigger slice
of county transportation pie” incorrectly stated the city of
Pendleton received $87,000 in special transportation funds
from Umatilla County. The city of Pendleton received
$78,300 and Clearview Mediation, located in Pendleton,
received $8,700.
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and
sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in
the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
Robertson in the yard.
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
FRIDAY
Mostly cloudy
Cloudy with a
snow shower
42° 29°
37° 28°
SATURDAY
Some sun, then
turning cloudy
SUNDAY
A rain or snow
shower in spots
Cloudy and chilly
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
39° 29°
38° 24°
35° 23°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
36° 25°
40° 26°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
48°
21°
42°
28°
63° (2005) -20° (1922)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.19"
1.25"
0.93"
1.25"
0.95"
0.93"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
31°
20°
42°
29°
65° (1961) -11° (1930)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.18"
0.79"
0.75"
0.79"
0.51"
0.75"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
Jan 19
Jan 27
7:29 a.m.
4:43 p.m.
none
11:21 a.m.
First
Full
Feb 3
37° 22°
34° 27°
Seattle
49/39
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
36° 27°
Feb 10
Today
MONDAY
Spokane
Wenatchee
38/24
34/26
Tacoma
Moses
50/35
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 35/24
38/26
48/41
49/35
39/25
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
46/40
43/33 Lewiston
41/26
Astoria
41/28
51/41
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
49/37
Pendleton 35/21
The Dalles 40/26
42/29
41/30
La Grande
Salem
36/26
51/39
Albany
Corvallis 49/39
50/39
John Day
41/29
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
32/19
50/38
39/26
Caldwell
Burns
34/21
32/9
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
51
30
39
51
32
35
50
42
40
41
38
36
35
48
50
53
32
40
42
49
42
51
38
38
46
43
39
Lo
41
15
26
42
9
21
38
28
26
29
28
26
24
38
42
44
19
23
29
37
27
39
24
23
38
33
25
W
r
sn
c
r
pc
sn
c
pc
pc
pc
c
sn
sn
sh
r
r
sn
pc
c
r
pc
r
c
pc
r
pc
pc
Hi
48
28
36
48
30
32
49
37
36
37
37
33
33
48
50
52
32
39
37
42
40
49
38
36
43
37
38
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
11
57
40
32
48
24
23
34
25
68
35
W
s
c
s
pc
pc
c
s
pc
pc
sh
pc
Lo
40
18
27
42
15
22
39
27
25
27
23
25
25
36
43
43
24
26
28
37
27
37
27
24
37
29
29
W
r
sn
c
sh
sn
c
r
r
sf
sn
sn
c
c
sh
r
r
c
sf
sf
r
sn
r
c
sn
r
c
sf
Lo
12
55
42
34
45
20
22
36
14
68
38
W
s
s
s
sh
pc
sn
pc
s
sf
t
r
WINDS
Medford
48/38
Klamath Falls
38/28
(in mph)
Today
Friday
Boardman
Pendleton
SW 4-8
S 6-12
NNE 4-8
ESE 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Mostly cloudy today with
a little rain. Turning windier with heavier
rain tonight.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny
today; a bit of snow in the south and upper
Treasure Valley.
Western Washington: Cloudy today with a
bit of rain. A passing shower tonight. A little
rain tomorrow.
Eastern Washington: Mostly cloudy today; a
rain or snow shower in spots in the north.
Cascades: A bit of snow with little or no
accumulation today. More widespread snow
tonight.
Northern California: A little rain today;
snow, accumulating 1-2 inches in the
interior mountains.
0
1
1
1
0
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
Production Manager: Mike Jensen
541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
Fri.
Hi
33
67
56
44
74
33
35
53
32
88
43
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 •
fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com
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• To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries:
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editor@eastoregonian.com.
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips:
541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Fri.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
33
71
56
44
75
27
35
53
38
77
50
Classified & Legal Advertising
1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
Advertising Director: Marissa Williams
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541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com
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• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: A storm will bring rain and thunder from the lower Ohio Valley to the
western Gulf Coast today. The first of three storms will produce drenching rain with moun-
tain and inland snow in the West.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 85° in Marathon, Fla.
Low -28° in Antero Reservoir, Colo.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
50
69
52
54
41
69
37
46
70
57
45
49
72
51
46
60
-31
39
81
70
50
76
50
54
58
61
Lo
30
60
38
34
32
60
25
32
54
46
38
38
47
30
34
42
-35
34
69
57
44
57
39
41
49
50
W
pc
c
pc
pc
c
t
c
pc
pc
pc
r
c
pc
s
pc
s
pc
s
s
r
r
pc
c
r
c
sh
Fri.
Hi
44
71
49
47
38
72
35
42
77
66
46
53
73
41
46
53
-12
39
81
77
57
79
54
50
66
59
Lo
32
60
41
40
25
61
27
34
60
51
41
46
49
23
41
45
-21
34
69
59
48
59
37
41
51
49
Today
W
pc
pc
r
r
c
pc
c
s
pc
c
c
r
s
c
r
pc
pc
c
pc
c
c
pc
c
r
pc
r
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
53
64
83
45
42
64
74
50
62
48
53
59
40
47
61
39
42
56
50
35
64
57
49
60
57
54
Lo
50
55
64
36
35
57
61
36
38
35
35
48
24
29
45
19
30
47
44
27
55
49
39
46
38
36
W
r
r
s
r
c
r
t
pc
pc
c
pc
sh
c
pc
s
s
sn
sh
sh
sn
r
sh
r
pc
pc
c
Fri.
Hi
65
69
83
43
40
69
76
44
64
47
48
57
38
44
60
37
40
53
57
36
62
56
49
54
49
57
Lo
52
56
66
38
35
57
63
40
38
37
41
48
25
32
51
20
31
44
48
27
55
47
38
48
43
32
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
c
pc
s
r
r
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
r
r
s
s
r
c
sn
sh
c
sf
r
sh
c
r
r
c