Oregon Right to Life Wins at the Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit recently reversed the Oregon District Court’s ruling that Oregon Right to Life must comply with Oregon’s mandates to provide abortion services from the state’s 2017 Reproductive Health Equity Act (HB 3391). This has some interesting implications.

If you recall, we’ve gotten to the point where religious exemptions to such mandates received a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in last year’s Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin. The key issue in ORTL’s case, then, has been whether it’s a religious institution. The Oregon District Court said no.

The Ninth Circuit said yes. “ORTL put forth significant evidence of its religiosity, and there was no conflicting evidence against ORTL’s claim that its views are religiously grounded.” The majority opinion goes on to say: “The district court therefore erred by failing to conclude at the motion to dismiss stage that ORTL actually holds the beliefs professed in the complaint and that ORTL’s opposition to abortion is genuinely religious.” This ultimately hinged on facts like ORTL’s founding charter, containing statements that pro-life views stem from their Judeo-Christian values.

This could have broader implications. Religious exemptions may apply more broadly if they are not limited to just clerical institutions.

Eric Shierman lives in Salem and is the author of We were winning when I was there.