In a Post-Roe World, Here’s How We’re Fighting to Preserve and Expand LGBTQ+ Rights in Oregon
The Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon writes about her organization's agenda for Oregon's next legislative session at a time when LGBTQ+ and women's rights are threatened
As an organization dedicated to LGBTQ2SIA+ equality in Oregon, we at Basic Rights Oregon have always understood how important state governments are in protecting our rights. In 2022, that’s becoming truer than ever. We’re incensed to see our hard-won rights crumbling before our eyes. But we’re ready to keep fighting.
Prior to marriage equality becoming a federally guaranteed right in 2015, the ability for same-gender couples to marry in the United States varied from state to state. Before the Supreme Court’s Obergefel v. Hodges ruling, a gay couple could embark on a cross-country roadtrip and watch their rights disappear and reappear repeatedly as they drove across each new state line.
Last month, the Supreme Court made another historical ruling regarding basic equality and human rights. This time, in a first for the institution, the Court voted to remove existing rights, rather than grant new ones. In overturning Roe v. Wade, the Court stripped away people’s federally protected abortion rights, relegating it to a state-by-state issue.
Many Oregonians are rightfully anguished by this deeply retrograde, anti-democratic ruling, and are anxious to see which rights are next on the chopping block. Clarence Thomas’ concurrence offers a grim preview of where the most conservative Supreme Court in a century might go next. Marriage equality, contraceptives, anti-discrimination laws, and even the right to privacy in the bedroom are all at stake.
We are at least buoyed by the fact that in Oregon, abortion rights and protections won’t be impacted. Abortion is still legal here. But as the country regresses back to a patchwork system of rights for women, LGBTQ2SIA+ people, and other oppressed communities, advocates and lawmakers have a lot of work ahead of us.
We must fight to keep Oregon a place where bodily autonomy and equality are the laws of the land, regardless of future Supreme Court rulings. We must also remember that these basic rights are the floor, not the ceiling, and continue working toward a better future for queer and trans Oregonians.
As the Oregon State Legislature’s 2023 session approaches, Basic Rights Oregon is working hard to advance our priorities. Thanks to a hateful 2004 ballot measure, marriage is explicitly defined as between one man and one woman in the Oregon Constitution. We’re taking steps to ensure that wording won’t erase marriage equality in Oregon in the event the Supreme Court overturns Obergefell.
We’re also working in step with reproductive justice advocates to break down barriers to abortion access in Oregon. Abortion and other reproductive healthcare can be particulaly difficult for LGBTQ2SIA+ people to access—especially for nonbinary people and trans men, who face unique stigmas in seeking abortion. Clinics that provide abortions are often also the only places where trans people can safely access gender-affirming care. That’s why we’re an active member of the Oregon Legislature’s Reproductive Health and Access to Care Workgroup.
Our workgroup will be addressing both abortion and transgender and nonbinary people’s access to life-saving, gender-affirming medical care. Trans healthcare and abortion are inherently linked because they both hinge on bodily autonomy—the idea that each person has the dignity to make medical decisions for their own bodies. As more people are forced to travel across state lines for both abortions and gender-affirming care, Oregon needs to be ready to welcome them and give them care.
Conservatives across the country are currently using trans rights as a wedge issue, and are painting LGBTQ2SIA+ adults as “groomers'' corrupting children. We’ve seen before where this dangerous rhetoric leads; already, state legislatures are stripping trans people of their rights, particularly trans youth. This hate mongering has reared its head in Oregon school board meetings and even in the Oregon governor’s race, and we don’t expect it to slow down anytime soon.
At Basic Rights Oregon, we believe that a movement for gender justice and queer equality existing in this moment must not only recognize trans rights, but center them. That’s why we’re working to strengthen protections for transgender students, expand access to trans healthcare, and make sure trans folks are at the table when advocates are shaping future policy.
Our nation is receding into a patchwork of uncertainty, where fundamental human rights might not be guaranteed on the other side of a state line. People will suffer as a result—there’s no way around that. But in the years ahead, we’ll be doing everything we can to ensure Oregon is a haven for LGBTQ2SIA+ people and our allies.
 | A guest post by
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GBrown, I hear you saying that abortion as birth control is wrong in your opinion. I myself am not a fan of abortion either. However, the point here is not your or my thoughts on abortion but, quite simply, BODY AUTONOMY. Body autonomy is each individual's right to make their own choices.
I always find it interesting when liberals invent rights they want but cannot even admit you are a man or a woman. The Supreme Court only said Row was not listed as a right in the Constitution and sent it to each state. For 175 under the Constitution abortion was not allowed and even today many people are opposed with the exception of a few conditions. Because most abortions are nothing more than birth control you have to ask how are personal responsibility and birth control involved or why aren’t they.