Planned Parenthood PAC Warns Oregonians: Drazan Threatens Abortion Rights

Republican gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan, who has tried to downplay her extreme anti-abortion views on the campaign trail, admitted in a recent interview with The Bend Bulletin that she “looks forward to the day” when anti-abortion politicians could roll back reproductive freedom.

In the interview, which was published online October 5th, Drazan said: “I would look forward to the day where questions around abortion were not so extreme, that you could have a civil conversation around what are commonsense, reasonable laws around abortion. We don’t have that in Oregon, we don’t have the opportunity to have that conversation. But, the majority of Oregonians don’t agree with late-term abortion, but that’s what Oregon’s law is. And so I would look forward to the day where Oregonians could have a conversation about what is a reasonable response to this law? And we haven’t had that yet.”

A person’s health and well-being, not political ideologies and interference, should guide important medical decisions throughout pregnancy. The choice is clear: Christine Drazan wants to ban abortion, while Tina Kotek is a proven champion for sexual and reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon is working around the clock to ensure that voters know who they can trust to protect their health and rights.

Statement from An Do, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon:

“Abortion is health care, and Oregonians have consistently affirmed that they want providers, not politicians, involved in their personal medical decisions. No matter how many times Christine Drazan tries to downplay her extreme, out-of-touch views on abortion, this interview is just more proof that Christine Drazan wants to hand over our rights to control our bodies, lives and futures over to politicians. 

“This comes at the same time when national Republicans, corporate special interests and Phil Knight are not only pumping in millions of dollars to get Christine Drazan elected, but they are also investing millions to flip the Oregon Legislature red. If they get their way, anti-abortion Republicans will be able to pass bills restricting reproductive freedom in Oregon, and Drazan, who is endorsed by the most extreme anti-abortion group in the state that supports banning abortion with no exceptions, has vowed to sign those bills into law. An anti-abortion governor would also appoint anti-abortion agency heads and judges, would establish anti-abortion policies and would threaten sexual and reproductive health care for Oregonians who rely on Medicaid.

“An overwhelming majority of Oregonians want abortion to remain safe and legal. Voters have rejected every anti-abortion ballot measure put before them, and the most recent attempt in 2018 failed by the widest margin yet. We cannot elect a governor who does not align with Oregonians’ values.”

Here is a snapshot of Christine Drazan’s anti-abortion record:

• Drazan supports anti-abortion extremists: Drazan pursued and accepted the endorsement of Oregon Right To Life, which means she has signed on to its extreme agenda to ban abortion in all circumstances.
• Drazan wants to criminalize abortion providers: In both 2019 and 2020, Drazan personally sponsored legislation that could jail doctors who provide abortion services.
• Drazan pledges to veto abortion expansion: “If a bill came to her desk to expand abortion access, she would veto it,” KOIN-TV reported in July. At a time when Eastern Oregonians are directly impacted by Idaho’s near-total abortion ban, we need a governor who will consider every option to ensure that people don’t lose access to essential health care.
• Drazan is hiding her anti-abortion views from voters: Drazan has joined multiple anti-abortion candidates in scrambling to hide their extreme views from voters. Axios reported in August, “Drazan scrubbed her website’s issues page, which had previously touted pro-life bonafides.” Her General Election voters’ pamphlet statement makes no mention of her endorsement by Oregon Right To Life, despite her proudly including its endorsement in her Primary Election voters’ pamphlet statement.