(RepublicanNews.org) – In a state where abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy, citizens will now also be able to get free legal advice on how to procure an abortion. Oregon’s state Department of Justice announced a new “abortion hotline” on January 23.
State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said the hotline would help callers “understand the status of [Oregon’s] reproductive health laws.” It is unclear why such a state-run hotline would be necessary or whether women seeking abortions would think first to call a state hotline instead of their medical provider.
AG Rosenblum said the hotline was necessary because Oregon shares a border with Idaho, which has much stricter abortion laws.
There is no charge for the advice given by the state, and the hotline is partially staffed by private lawyers working pro bono. One such attorney, Molly Honore, said she expected out-of-state callers considering moving to Oregon may use the hotline, along with potential patients and abortion providers.
The US Supreme Court overturned the landmark decision in the 1973 case Roe v Wade in June of 2022. Roe v Wade established a constitutional right to abortion and prevented states from restricting abortion within the first trimester. It set out a trimester schedule dictating when and to what degree states could ban the procedure.
The overturning of Roe v Wade did not “take away a woman’s right to abortion,” as abortion proponents frequently claim. Instead, it gave the right to legislate around abortion back to the individual states and disestablished the “constitutional right” to abortion that Roe v Wade created.
The 2022 SCOTUS decision likewise did not “ban abortion.”
Idaho, which borders Oregon, is one of 12 states that have near-total abortion bans. Oregon, by contrast, has almost no restrictions. Abortion in Oregon is legal at all stages of pregnancy, including up through the last day of the ninth month when a baby is at term and ready to be born. The state only requires that girls 15 and younger get a parent’s permission.
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