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Progressive advocacy groups say they will begin gathering signatures for a November 2026 ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the Oregon Constitution.
The initiative would amend the state constitution to explicitly ban discrimination on account of pregnancy-related decisions, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex.
Basic Rights Oregon, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon announced the initiative today, on the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which erased the federal right to abortion.
Gender-affirming health care, which the ballot measure also seeks to protect, will also be on the high court’s docket sometime soon: Today, the justices agreed to hear a case on state bans on transgender health care.
Section 46, Article I of Oregon’s constitution already protects residents from discrimination “on account of sex.” The new ballot initiative would change that section to include a new, comprehensive definition of “on account of sex.” It would include: pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and related health decisions, gender identity and related health decisions, sexual orientation, including the right to marry, and sex.
“At a time when extremist politicians are rolling back the clock on LGBTQ+ rights nationally, it’s beyond time to cement Oregon’s place as the safest place in the U.S. to be queer,” Evelyn Kocher, a chief petitioner of the measure, said in a statement.
The groups will need to gather 160,551 valid signatures to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. (Because the initiative seeks to amend the state constitution, the threshold is higher than for a ballot measure that would only change state laws.)
The announcement comes amid a time of fierce national debate over abortion access, transgender health care, especially for minors, and, in some cases, access to birth control and in vitro fertilization. “I strongly believe that now is the time to make it crystal clear where we stand on marriage equality, abortion, contraception, health care for transgender patients, and the freedom to live our lives without government overreach,” Laurie Trieger, another chief petitioner, said in a statement.