Rep. Diehl: Extreme anti-parental rights bill HB 2002

By In the news
In: Uncategorized
Monday March 20, 2023


By Oregon State Representative Ed Diehl,

The House Behavioral Health & Health Care Committee is hearing a bill this Monday that we MUST OPPOSE, House Bill 2002.  This is a two-part mega-bill.  I wrote to you earlier this week about the sections that greatly expand what is called “gender-affirming treatment” without any safeguards to assure we are not mis-diagnosing children.  And we know we are mis-diagnosing thousands in this country!  I appreciate everyone who has already spoken out about this element of the bill; many of you have submitted written testimony and are willing to publicly testify.

Today, I’m writing to you about the bulk of this bill.  House Bill 2002 greatly expands abortion access in Oregon, limits parental rights, protects abortionists, and punishes those who may stand in the way of someone getting an abortion.  I believe the goal is clear: the supporters of this bill want Oregon to be an abortion sanctuary state.

Oregon already has the least restrictive abortion access in the country.  Women and young girls can get an abortion for any reason, at any stage in their pregnancy, up until the moment of birth.  House Bill 2002 aims to take it even further:

  • A young girl can have an abortion at any age, without parental consent.
  • Girls as young as 15 can be sterilized without parental consent and at no cost.
  • Institutions of higher education with student health centers are required to provide abortion access to students.
  • Directs the state to establish abortion access in rural areas of the state.
  • Protects abortionists from losing their medical license or malpractice insurance and exempts them from public records disclosure.
  • Makes it a crime to interfere with an abortion facility (Class A misdemeanor) and allows anyone who feels aggrieved to bring civil action against someone who interferes.
  • Repeals existing law that makes it a crime to conceal the birth of an infant, if the person conceals the corpse of a newborn child to prevent determination if the child was born dead or alive.
  • Makes it illegal for a county or city to declare an ‘abortion free zone’ by giving anyone the right to enforce civil action against a public entity that interferes with abortion access.

Many pro-choice Oregonians believe that this bill is too extreme!

We need your help to fight this bill.  We need to let our legislators know giving abortions to young children without parental consent is wrong!  Allowing young girls to be sterilized without parental consent is wrong!  And allowing people to conceal the birth of an infant is wrong!

This bill goes well beyond what is normally considered pro-choice legislation.

By allowing girls at any age to get abortions without consent, and allowing births to be concealed, House Bill 2002 will encourage the abuse of young girls to go unreported.  Their abusers will go unpunished and will undoubtedly continue to abuse.

The bill is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, March 20th, starting at 3 pm at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.  The hearing will last into the evening.  You can help by testifying in person, testifying virtually, submitting written testimony, and emailing the committee members.

To testify, just follow this link. 

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