SALEM, Oregon – Oregon Right to Life issued a response Friday after Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield added Oregon to a multistate lawsuit attempting to block the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business.
“Dan Rayfield, Governor Tina Kotek, and their allies at Planned Parenthood are seeking to override the will of the people and keep taking money out of taxpayers’ pockets to fund hundreds of thousands of abortions every year across the country,” Oregon Right to Life Executive Director Lois Anderson said. “Oregon Right to Life vehemently opposes Oregon’s inclusion in this badly considered lawsuit.”
On Tuesday, Oregon joined 22 states and Washington D.C. in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over a provision in the recent “One Big Beautiful Bill” budget reconciliation measure that paused federal taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood for one year. Planned Parenthood has already filed its own lawsuit against the Trump administration, and the federal defunding is currently paused.
“Planned Parenthood is where thousands of Oregonians go for cancer screenings, contraception, and basic medical care,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield – a longtime backer of Planned Parenthood and unlimited abortion access – said in a statement. “Pulling Medicaid funding doesn’t make that need disappear, it just makes it harder for people to stay healthy.”
In contrast to the claims made by Planned Parenthood and AG Dan Rayfield, abortion is never medically necessary and Planned Parenthood facilities provide a very small percentage of non-abortion-related medical services, all of which are available to Oregonians (with or without insurance) at other clinics throughout the state. The data shows that Planned Parenthood is primarily an abortion business, performing about 40% of abortions nationwide in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
“It is frustrating to see our state’s leaders once again repeating the abortion industry’s talking points, and worse, taking the wrong side on this deeply important human rights issue,” Anderson continued. “Contrary to Dan Rayfield’s claims, affordable health care is widely available at non-Planned Parenthood facilities throughout the state. This isn’t about cancer screenings or STI testing. Planned Parenthood exists to take advantage of women and families and to end the lives of innocent unborn babies.“
“We know that most Americans on both sides of the political aisle don’t want their tax dollars going to pay for abortions. Our duly elected representatives in Congress were right to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, a business that profits from offering death as a solution and convincing vulnerable women they can’t rise above their challenges and choose life,” Anderson added. “We look forward to a strong ruling that upholds the right of the American people, through their elected representatives, to defund Planned Parenthood in the interest of moms, families, and babies nationwide.”
