A bill that would boost protections for abortion and gender-affirming care providers and patients has passed in the Oregon House and moved to the Senate. The measure would bar state agencies from aiding federal or out-of-state investigations into legal health care provided in Oregon.

Mariana Garcia Medina, senior policy associate for the ACLU of Oregon, which helped write the act, said the Strengthening Provider and Patient Privacy Act is a response to the Trump administration’s aggressive attacks on reproductive and gender-affirming health-care rights across the country.

"What we're doing is," she said, "we're making very clear that as a state, our agencies will not be willingly or voluntarily cooperating, or providing any personally identifiable information of our patients or providers in the state of Oregon, that provide legal health care."

Garcia Medina added that the legislation would ensure that all name and gender marker changes become confidential once they are filed together in court to protect trans Oregonians.

Critics of the bill have argued that it could hinder investigations from outside agencies into medical malpractice cases.

Garcia Medina said the act would not change current laws regarding malpractice, nor would it affect the ability of outside agencies to conduct research.

"The bill would not interfere with legitimate medical research into truly de-identified information as permitted by federal HIPAA law," she said.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, 13 states have completely banned providing or receiving abortions, with those convicted facing up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000. The Oregon legislation would also prevent health-care professionals and patients from being extradited to face charges in other states. It will likely be up for a Senate vote later this week.

Source: Public News Service