Abortion

Blue State Not Immune to 20-Week Abortion Ban Proposals

An Oregon lawmaker this month introduced a bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks post-fertilization, adding the Democratic-controlled legislature to the list of states across the country introducing similar bans this year.

An Oregon lawmaker this month introduced a bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks post-fertilization, adding the Democratic-controlled legislature to the list of states across the country introducing similar bans this year. Shutterstock

An Oregon lawmaker, Rep. Andy Olson (R-Albany), this month introduced a bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks post-fertilization, adding the Democratic-controlled legislature to the list of states across the country introducing similar bans this year.

The bill, HB 2388, would allow physicians to perform abortions past 20 weeks post-fertilization only if there is a medical emergency.

Under the proposed law, physicians must report the details of any abortion performed, before or after 20 weeks post-fertilizationincluding the post-fertilization age of the fetus, the method used to terminate the pregnancy, and whether the abortion “provided the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive”to the Oregon Health Authority.

The Oregon legislature has seen at least two iterations of HB 2388 in earlier years, both of which failed. Democrats have a 16-14 edge in the Oregon Senate, along with a 34-26 advantage in the house.

Oregon in 2014 received an A grade for choice-related issues from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Another anti-choice bill was introduced in the state senate this month. That bill, SB 108, would ban so-called sex-selective abortionspregnancy terminations done because of the sex of the fetus—during the third trimester.

Though evidence does not exist as to the prevalence of sex-selective abortions, anti-choice advocates have pushed such legislation in recent years, building off racist stereotypes that some communities of color prefer male children.

Sex-selective abortion bans have this year been proposed in Iowa and Indiana, as well as in Congress.