ROE v.WADE at 30

By Mindy Koopmans

Thirty years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court gave women the constitutionally protected right to have an abortion.

While many states have found ways to limit abortion services (through denial of public funding or parental notification laws) Oregon has remained solidly pro-choice since the historic Roe v. Wade ruling.

"Oregon is one of the few states in the nation that doesn't have restrictions on reproductive health services," says Caroline Fitchett, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

But not all the news is good for abortion-rights advocates.

The number of abortion providers in Oregon has dwindled in recent years, from 58 in 1989 to 36 in 2002. And there are no providers in 29 of Oregon's 36 counties.

The drop in providers has come as demand for abortions has leveled off in Oregon. According to the state Center for Health Statistics, the share of pregnancies terminated rose steadily during the 1970s, hitting a high of 29 percent in Oregon in 1979. That figure has since fluctuated between 22 percent (1986) and 28 percent (1988).

WWeek 2015

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