Abortion in Oregon

The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "induced abortion" of an embryo or fetus at some point in a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense.[note 1] Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.[1]

Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child",[2][3] and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing.[4][5] Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of terms labeled as political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life".[6] The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".[7]

Free birth control correlates to teenage girls having a fewer pregnancies and fewer abortions. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study found such a link.  At the same time, a 2011 study by Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teen drug and alcohol abuse, and lower rates of cancer screening.[8]

According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health.  These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools.[9] According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.[9]

Poor women in the United States had problems paying for menstrual pads and tampons in 2018 and 2019. Almost two-thirds of American women could not pay for them. These were not available through the federal Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC).[10] Lack of menstrual supplies has an economic impact on poor women.  A study in St. Louis found that 36% had to miss days of work because they lacked adequate menstrual hygiene supplies during their period.  This was on top of the fact that many had other menstrual issues including bleeding, cramps and other menstrual induced health issues.[10] As of November 2018, Oregon did not have a state sales tax and so menstrual items were not taxed.[11][12][13][14]

The parents of Becky Bell worked with the Feminist Majority Foundation in the 1990s, which credited them with helping to turn public opinion against a parental-notification law in Oregon.[15]

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in Oregon by year.

See also: Abortion clinic

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by twenty, going from sixty in 1982 to forty in 1992.[24] In 2014, there were fifteen abortion clinics in the state.[25] In 2014, 78% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 30% of women in the state aged 15 – 44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[22] In March 2016, there were 12 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[26] In 2017, there were 12 Planned Parenthood clinics in a state with a population of 911,617 women aged 15 – 49 of which 8 offered abortion services. That year, 30% of women in the state aged 15 – 44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[27]

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there was only 0 recorded illegal abortion death in the state.[28] In 1990, 332,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[24] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were  abortions 760, 60 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 140 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 70 abortions for women of all other races.[29] In 2014, 63% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[30] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.[9]

State Medicaid coverage of medically necessary abortion services. Navy blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortion for low-income women through legislation. Royal blue: Medicaid covers medically necessary abortions for low-income women under court order. Gray: Medicaid denies abortion coverage for low-income women except for cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

17 states including Oregon used their own funds to cover all or most "medically necessary" abortions sought by low-income women under Medicaid, thirteen of which are required by State court orders to do so.[35] In 2010, the state had 3,427 publicly funded abortions, of which were zero federally funded and 3,427 were state funded.[36]

The first clinic arson occurred in Oregon in March 1976 and the first bombing occurred in February 1978 in Ohio.[38][39] The attack took place at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Eugene and was committed by an individual.[39]

Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon attempted to set fires at abortion clinics in Oregon, California, Idaho and Nevada during the late 1980s and early 1990s and eventually plead guilty for these cases of arson.  In 1993, she would be found guilty of attempted murder of Dr. George Tiller in 1993 at his Wichita, Kansas clinic.[39]