Current Status - Summary

As of January 2025, Oregon remains one of the more protective states for women’s rights. State law supports access to reproductive healthcare, voting, and workplace protections, and the state has become a regional access point for reproductive care as restrictions tighten in surrounding states.

That said, Oregon is not insulated from national pressure. Federal funding changes, shifting enforcement priorities, and limits on service capacity can all affect how easily people access care and support. Even so, Oregon’s core legal protections remain in place, and the state’s overall rights landscape has held steady despite these external challenges.

Top 5 Things to Know

• Oregon serves as a regional access point for abortion care.
  Strong legal protections and shield laws allow providers to serve patients traveling from more restrictive states, even as demand strains clinic capacity.
• Federal funding disruptions are testing access, not legality.
  While abortion and reproductive care remain protected under state law, federal Medicaid-related funding changes have forced Oregon to intervene to keep clinics open.
• Oregon moved to close child marriage loopholes.
  New legislation raised the minimum marriage age to 18 without exceptions, aligning Oregon with a growing national push to eliminate child marriage.
• The state is responding to AI-generated sexual abuse material.
  Oregon enacted new protections targeting AI-generated sexual images, including nonconsensual deepfake pornography—an issue gaining national attention as technology outpaces existing laws.
• Voting access remains stable and secure.
  Vote-by-mail and automatic voter registration continue statewide, with no active efforts to restrict participation.

Women’s Health

Oregon’s Women’s Health rating reflects a state that protects reproductive autonomy while also maintaining a relatively strong healthcare access baseline.

Reproductive Rights
Abortion and reproductive care remain legal and protected, and Oregon has adopted a shield-law posture designed to protect patients and providers from out-of-state legal actions. These protections provide critical support to Oregon’s role as a regional access point for patients traveling from more restrictive states.

Healthcare Access
Oregon’s healthcare system helps people keep their health coverage during and after pregnancy through the Oregon Health Plan, including extended Medicaid coverage after childbirth. However, new risks are emerging. Federal budget actions tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have disrupted Medicaid-related funding streams for Planned Parenthood and other providers through at least mid-2026, forcing the state to step in with emergency funding to preserve healthcare access for tens of thousands of patients. While Oregon’s legal framework remains intact, these funding pressures highlight how federal policy shifts can undermine access even in protective states.

Workplace Rights

Oregon’s workplace laws are designed to give women stronger protections on the job, including requirements for equal pay and broad anti-discrimination safeguards. These rules make it easier for workers to challenge unfair pay or treatment. In recent years, the state has gone further by requiring more transparency around wages, with new disclosure rules coming online in 2026. The overall direction is clear: Oregon is working to close pay gaps and hold employers accountable.

Violence & Safety

Oregon has legal tools in place to help prevent domestic violence, including laws that allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from people who pose a serious risk. At the same time, many survivors still face safety barriers, particularly when trying to access shelter, advocacy, or legal support in moments of crisis. In 2025, funding cuts and federal funding uncertainty placed additional strain on victim-service programs, making access to safety and recovery more uneven across the state, even as Oregon’s legal framework continues to strengthen.

Also in 2025, Oregon strengthened protections against emerging forms of harm by raising the minimum marriage age to 18 with no exceptions and criminalizing nonconsensual AI-generated sexual images, including deepfake pornography—reflecting growing concern about both longstanding and technology-driven forms of abuse.

Voting & Civic Participation

Oregon has long made it easier to vote by reducing paperwork and other barriers to participation. The state uses automatic voter registration, which registers eligible voters through certain state agencies unless they opt out. Oregon also conducts all elections by mail—a system voters approved decades ago and continue to use statewide. While state officials consistently defend vote-by-mail as secure, it has become a political flashpoint despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud.

There are no strong indicators that suggest Oregon is moving to restrict voting access; instead, the state continues to strengthen and modernize its election systems.

Education

Oregon’s education policies are designed to support gender equity and inclusion. State civil rights law and guidance from the Oregon Department of Education make clear that students should not be excluded from school programs or activities based on gender identity. This guidance helps districts apply those protections in practice.

At the same time, federal investigations into Oregon’s trans-inclusive athletics policies have created uncertainty. Even without changes to state law, increased scrutiny can cause districts to hesitate or apply policies unevenly. As a result, access and inclusion may vary from school to school.

Related WRDI Reporting

Federal investigation tests Oregon’s trans-inclusive school policies (Nov 25)
Oregon protects abortion access after federal funding disruptions (Dec 25)