PORTLAND, Ore. — Local health care providers, along with Gov. Tina Kotek, are bracing for what abortion access will look like under a second Trump presidency.
Throughout much of Trump's campaign, he has promised he would not implement a federal abortion ban, but with more than half of states currently having some form of a ban in place, people are traveling to Oregon for abortions at a rate some providers say is unsustainable going forward.
Inside the Lilith Clinic in downtown Portland, women come from all over to receive abortion care.
“There's a lot of fear and uncertainty, which I know is how a lot of people are feeling,” said Grayson Dempsey who works at the Lilith Clinic, a small independent reproductive health clinic.
“Doing what we can to see our patients and to continue seeing folks and doing the best we can to take care of them,” added Shanna Krogh, who works the front desk of the clinic.
Trump played a key role in overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 by appointing three Supreme Court justices who supported the decision to reverse nearly half a century of constitutional protections for abortion and leave it up to states to make their own rules instead of implementing a federal abortion ban.
“Even if Trump is saying, 'Don't worry, I’m not going to attack abortion; I am not going to sign a ban,' he has surrounded himself with people and advisors who feel strongly about outlying abortion care, so I have no faith that we haven't seen the worst come, and we are just really trying to brace ourselves,” said Dempsey.
Those at Oregon Right to Life say Trump's stance on abortion has wavered.
“It doesn't look really likely like it's going to be a pro-life administration the same as it was the first time around,” said Lois Anderson at Oregon Right to Life.
Currently, 41 states have some form of an abortion ban, leaving women to travel to states like Oregon instead.
“Well, I think it's a tragedy because our organization our mission is to restore the right to life,” said Anderson.
“Oregon is currently the only state that doesn't have any additional legislative restrictions on abortion care,” which means there is no time limit in Oregon on when someone can get an abortion, said Dempsey.
According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, there were nearly 12,000 clinician-provided abortions in Oregon last year. More than 1,200 were out-of-state patients, a nearly 55% increase from 2020. More than half — nearly 700 — came from Idaho. The next highest was around 400 people coming from Washington.
Across the country, more than 170,000 people traveled out of their home state last year to get an abortion, and due to state abortion bans, many people are traveling more than 200 miles to find care.
“It's an unsustainable model of healthcare. We now have a country, where ... about roughly half of our states can provide care, and roughly half of our states, it's criminalized, which is very confusing and truly unsustainable going forward,” said Dempsey.
This week, Kotek made sure Oregon has enough FDA-approved medication for abortions and miscarriages to last another Trump presidency.
“Look, we don't know what's coming; there's a lot of rhetoric. We got to see what's actually being proposed, but we're not waiting,” said Kotek.
‘It’s fear mongering, honestly; there has been no indication from the Trump administration from Trump himself that there's going to be a limit on abortion medication, so I honestly don't know what she's up to,” Anderson insisted.
Kotek says it is too early to tell how the next four years could impact abortion care in Oregon and the rest of the country, but she says she will protect reproductive healthcare no matter what happens at the national level.
Those at Oregon Right to Life are continuing to work on local pro-life policies at the same time independent abortion clinics look to up staffing to meet the demand from out-of-state patients.