Oregon’s pro-abortion Democratic supermajority on Thursday passed HB 4088, a highly controversial bill that has sparked serious concerns due to its potential to jeopardize victims of coercion and abuse in abortion or gender-related cases.
As written, HB 4088 will strengthen legal protections for providers of abortions and gender treatments and expand protections to anyone assisting others in receiving such services. Oregon Right to Life and numerous other organizations have raised strong objections to the bill, arguing it could unduly complicate the prosecution of bad actors, including abusers and traffickers.
During a floor session in the Oregon Senate on Thursday, all 18 Democratic Senators voted to approve HB 4088. All 12 Republican Senators voted against the measure. The vote came after the bill previously advanced through the House with a 34–22 vote, again with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposing the bill. Last month, Democrats rejected three proposed amendments aimed at ensuring that the bill would not place minors and victims of crimes like abuse, coercion, or trafficking, at greater risk.
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“I am deeply disappointed that Oregon’s legislature has once again chosen to put the interests of the abortion lobby above the safety of women and children, including those who may be victims of abuse,” Oregon Right to Life executive director Lois Anderson said. “Coercion and trafficking in cases of abortion clearly happen, as we all saw in the devastating 2023 case of a 15-year-old Idaho girl allegedly brought across state lines by her 18-year-old boyfriend and his mother for an abortion in Bend. These abuses can be far too easy to ignore or overlook, especially when the legal emphasis is placed on shielding those who perform or assist others in obtaining abortions, rather than protecting the most vulnerable.”
- According to the text of the bill, HB 4088 would expand protected interstate actions under Oregon’s existing 2023 shield law (HB 2002) to include “any person who provides or attempts to provide aid, assistance, resources, encouragement or support to a person in providing or receiving or attempting to provide or receive reproductive health care or gender-affirming treatment.”
- The bill will “[prohibit] cooperation with law enforcement agencies of the federal government or other states in actions involving legally-protected reproductive or gender-affirming health care activities… if such activity would be lawful if it occurred entirely in this state.”
- Abortion and “gender-affirming care” are legal for children ages 15 and older in Oregon without parental permission or notification. Girls under the age of 15 can legally get abortions if the provider believes that notifying her parents would cause harm.
- A 2023 survey showed that many women feel pressured or coerced to get abortions, and a 2014 Loyola University Chicago School of Law study found that “forced abortions [are] an especially disturbing trend in sex trafficking.”
- Undercover investigations and court documents provide evidence of abortion facility staff failing to follow mandatory reporting requirements in instances involving the sexual abuse of minors.
“This bill should never have been introduced, let alone passed,” Anderson said. “Though lawmakers have today failed to do so, Oregon Right to Life will now and always continue to stand up for the most vulnerable and support access to life-affirming resources for women and families.”
Throughout the legislative session, a coalition of diverse organizations and groups have come out in firm opposition to HB 4088, including Oregon Right to Life, Alliance Defending Freedom, the USA Chapter of Women’s Declaration International, Do No Harm Action, the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, the Abortion Survivors Network, And Then There Were None, Women’s Liberation Front, and LGB Courage Coalition, along with hundreds of pro-life Oregonians.
Following the March 5 passage of the bill in the Oregon Senate, HB 4088 will now go to Oregon pro-abortion Governor Tina Kotek’s desk for a signature.
LifeNews Note: Ashley Sadler is Communications Director for Oregon Right to Life. Oregon Right to Life Education Foundation is actively involved in connecting churches with pro-life pregnancy resource centers across the state, as well as creating and distributing localized resource guides to ensure that abortion-vulnerable moms and families throughout Oregon have access to life-affirming options.
