Oregon Leaders Visit East Portland Health Center, Affirm Support for Abortion Access

Press Release

Governor Kate Brown, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, and Representative Andrea Valderrama today visited the Elsie H. Hillman East Portland Health Center, operated by Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette. The center provides a wide range of sexual and reproductive health care services to patients in East Multnomah County and beyond. They were joined by Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette President and CEO Anne Udall and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon Executive Director An Do.

The state of Idaho's trigger law banning abortion takes effect today. Abortion remains legal in the state of Oregon. Governor Brown, Congresswoman Bonamici, and Representative Valderrama discussed their commitment to ensuring that all patients seeking reproductive care in Oregon have access to quality care, regardless of where they come from.

"Oregon will always be a safe and welcoming place for all people seeking reproductive care, and for all people seeking an abortion," said Governor Brown. "Oregon has joined Washington and California to form the West Coast Offense, to protect abortion access on the West Coast, protect people seeking an abortion in our states, and to protect providers from prosecution in other states for providing medical care. I'd like to thank the health care workers of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, who are on the front lines of providing patient care to everyone who comes through their doors."

"We will never stop fighting to protect, restore, and expand access to abortion care," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "We must stand together in opposition to the recent attacks on reproductive rights, including the trigger law going into place in our neighboring state, Idaho. Here in Oregon we are committed to providing the care people need, whether they are Oregonians or traveling from nearby states. I am deeply grateful for the Planned Parenthood staff we met with today who are providing needed care, and to the many reproductive health care workers throughout our state."

"Reproductive justice is racial justice. This means if we aren't addressing health disparities that continue to impact Black and Brown communities, we aren't going far enough," said Representative Andrea Valderrama (D-Outer Eas… "While the right to abortion is protected under Oregon law and we've worked hard to expand access, we know that coverage and access gaps persist. That's why I support the Hillman Clinic and efforts to address and eliminate barriers in the 2023 session."

"Idaho's abortion ban is devastating and cruel, and it puts physicians in an impossible position: having to choose between upholding their oath, or risk criminalization and jail time," said Anne Udall, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette. "The chaos, confusion and devastation we are now seeing on the ground is exactly the environment politicians opposed to reproductive rights have worked for decades to create. Banning abortion does not stop people from needing abortions. It only puts more people's lives in danger.

"Here in Oregon and Southwest Washington, where our health centers are located, our doors are open and we will do what we can to connect people who come to us seeking abortions with the care they need -- regardless of where they live."

"Anti-abortion politicians have been systematically stripping access to abortion one state at a time. Against the will of the American people, the Supreme Court handed away our bodily autonomy and removed the bulwark against politicians having free rein in our personal medical decisions," said An Do, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon. "I am proud to live in a state with leadership that believes abortion is health care and that health care is a human right.

"We are so grateful for the leadership of Governor Brown, Congresswoman Bonamici and Representative Valderrama for taking bold and necessary action in recent months to try to protect abortion access. We need everyone -- at every level of government -- to continue using every tool in their toolboxes to protect access to abortion."

Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette is the largest nonprofit family planning and reproductive rights organization in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Its largest health center, the Elsie H. Hillman East Portland Health Center, has been serving patients since June 2020. This state-of-the-art facility features an education and community space to host events with community partners in East Portland; signage in four languages; a large waiting area for patients equipped with Wi-Fi; light that simulates the outdoors; an individually controlled sound system in each of the 12 exam rooms; and rooftop solar panels that will target 80% of the building's electricity.

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