The Portland City Council will vote Wednesday on an emergency resolution that would ban buying goods and services from Texas, in response to a new Texas law restricting access to abortions.
The ban, which would also halt city employee travel to the state, would be in effect until Texas either withdraws the legislation or the law gets overturned in court, Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office said in a statement Friday.
“All people should have the right to choose if and when they carry a pregnancy,” the statement said. “This law rewards private individuals for exercising surveillance and control over others’ bodies … And, it will force people to carry pregnancies against their will.”
The Texas law, which went into effect Wednesday, bans abortions after physicians can detect fetal cardiac activity. That typically occurs in the early stages of pregnancy — around six weeks — before most people know they’re pregnant.
The law sparked immediate outcry nationwide, with critics arguing it violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that protects a person’s right to get an abortion up until 24 weeks of pregnancy. In a 5-4 vote late Wednesday, the Supreme Court declined to block the law.
Instead of having state officials enforce the ban, the law deputizes private citizens to sue anyone who performs or “aids and abets” an abortion. Plaintiffs can sue and recover legal fees, along with $10,000 in statutory damages for every procedure they successfully report.
In a joint dissenting opinion, Supreme Court Justices Sonya Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan said the law makes private citizens “bounty hunters” who can earn “cash prizes for civilly prosecuting their neighbors’ medical procedures.”
Wheeler’s statement said Texas’s “unconstitutional ban” on abortions violates the separation of church and state, which is protected by the First Amendment.
“All people should have the right to choose if and when they carry a pregnancy,” the statement said. “We urge other leaders and elected bodies around the nation to join us in condemning the actions of the Texas state government.”
— Catalina Gaitán
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“All people should have the right to choose if and when they carry a pregnancy,” the statement said. “This law rewards private individuals for exercising surveillance and control over others’ bodies … And, it will force people to carry pregnancies against their will.” Said who? That’s a Texas law—how does that adversely affect Portland, Mr Wheeler? Another incompetent mayor we would do well without.
I hope this creates a stampede to visit and purchase in Texas—maybe you will even lose a bunch of residents.
Moron
IF I had the power, i’d respond in kind, and BLOCK ALL TRAVEL TO AND from OREGONISTAN, and CEASE doing any business, with any company based there.
If the right to choose is so important, Portland, your employees have the right to choose where and when they go on their own time! Mr. Wheeler, how can you say the Texas law is uncontitutional (unless you are a Constitutional scholar and expert) when the Supreme Court has ruled otherwise, using the exact same process that made Roe v. Wade the (by fiat) law of the land? Remember, Roe v. Wade was not voted on and passed into law by representatives of the people in Congress, it was an opinion of the Court!
The Court is the refuge of the Democrats when they can’t get their radical agenda passed unless the ruling goes against them, too often they have used this to get unpopular ideas put into law.
Ahh the right to choose, ONLY APPLIES when its following the leftist agenda.. OTHERWISE You will shut up, and comply, PEON!
““All people should have the right to choose”. Yep Ted Wheeler, the baby should have a right to choose to live, rather than be butchered / killed by your savagery!
Texas would like a vote to ban everyone from Portland, aka Anarchist City, from entering & stinking up Texas.
Oregon & Portland citizens are free to murder & sell all the baby parts they want but they need to mind their own damn business as they have no right or authority to demand the citizens of TX or any other state do so.
Maybe the baby killer supporters running American Airlines will offer free flights to abortion mills in Oregon or other states for women who would rather kill their unwanted babies than bother with any form of birth control,
A civilized society should not subsidize, celebrate or promote the approx 615,000 annual abortions in USA.
Maybe had they BLOCKED ALL commiefornian rejects, Oregon rejects, and washington rejects, from COMING TO TEXAS, it wouldn’t slowly but surely, be turning blue.
Portland? Where are they going to purchase all the building supplies they need to rebuild Portland
Time to just wall the city off, 100 meters tall, and ALL THE WAY AROUND.. Leave no exits.. Leave no way in or out. JUST SHUT THEM IN, and call it a day.