Bid to ban state funds for abortions tests open Oregon laws
PORTLAND — Teenage girls in Oregon don't need their parents' consent to end an unwanted pregnancy, women in the country illegally have coverage for the procedure and private insurers will soon be required to cover the full cost of an abortion under a new law.
Oregon has the least restrictive laws on abortion access in the U.S., making it a political standard-bearer for the abortion rights movement. But a dozen years after voters last rejected a measure to reduce women's ability to get an abortion, a question on the Nov. 6 ballot is asking a new generation to amend the Oregon Constitution to ban the use of state funding for abortion.
If Measure 106 passes, low-income women insured by Oregon's Medicaid program would pay out of pocket for the procedure. Its language also would likely mean public employees — such as teachers, government officials, firefighters and police — would no longer receive abortion coverage through insurance.
The emergence of the ballot measure amid an especially divisive U.S. political climate — and on the heels of rightward shift of the U.S. Supreme Court — has alarmed abortion rights advocates.
Read more: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/29/bid-ban-state-funds-abortions-tests-open-oregon-laws/1811640002/