By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle
Planned Parenthood is increasing staff at Oregon clinics, boosting telemedicine programs across the state and opening a clinic in Ontario in eastern Oregon, the organization has announced.
Anne Udall, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette in Portland, said the measures respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to overturn Roe V. Wade and nearly 50 years of a constitutionally guaranteed right to abortion. In a press conference Friday, Udall said Planned Parenthood is in the city of Ontario’s permitting process for the clinic there, which is time consuming. It will be Oregon’s 12th Planned Parenthood clinic.
“When we do have more details about definitive timelines, we will share details directly with the Ontario community and others who are interested,” Udall said.
Planned Parenthood is currently leasing the former Four Rivers Health Care center in Ontario, which served low income families, immigrants and refugees until the end of 2021. The building has been used as a medical office since at least 1977, according to Ontario city officials.
Udall said that in the meantime, the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bend “has been a center of attention for us,” as the city prepares for a continuing influx of people seeking abortions from nearby states where it is banned or burdensome to access.
In neighboring Idaho, abortions will be illegal in about 60 days. Udall confirmed Planned Parenthood’s operation in Boise closed several weeks ago.
The nearest abortion providers for people in Idaho’s capital are now in Walla Walla, Washington, (250 miles from Boise), and Bend (319 miles Boise). Ontario is 56 miles from Boise.
Planned Parenthood administers about half of of abortions in Oregon. About 70% those are medication abortions – the taking of a single pill at the clinic and a second pill taken at home one to two days later.
Udall said the Bend clinic is fully staffed, and that “we are hiring additional patient navigators, which is a physician that works directly with our patients around their needs to access care. We are continuing to staff up our clinics, and are seeing an uptick in people interested in coming to work with Planned Parenthood because of the ruling.”
Lisa Gardner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon in Eugene, said the organization had “been planning for this day for a long time” and that the Supreme Court “in making this decision has created a health care crisis in our country.”
The Supreme Court decision is creating legal headaches for Planned Parenthood leaders. According to Udall, “The legal landscape is going to be mass confusion and there’s going to be a lot to learn. We’re going to see tremendous legal battles beginning to happen around this.”
When it comes to assisting out-of-state patients who may face legal repercussions for seeking an abortion in their home state, Udall said, “This is a new world.”
“We’re paying very close attention to how the SCOTUS decision will impact any laws of individuals who may be traveling out of state into Oregon, and we plan to follow every single legal regulation and or law. We will comply.”