PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — The Portland City Council will vote on an emergency resolution prohibiting city government from doing business with the state of Texas because of its new restrictions on abortions.
Mayor Ted Wheeler has announced the City Council will consider the ban on Wednesday, Sept. 8. It would prohibit the purchase of goods and services from Texas, and all city employee business travel there.
“The ban will be in effect until the state of Texas withdraws its unconstitutional ban on abortion or until it is overturned in court. City legal counsel is currently evaluating the legal aspects of this proposed resolution. The Portland City Council stands unified in its belief that all people should have the right to choose if and when they carry a pregnancy and that the decisions they make are complex, difficult and unique to their circumstances,” said a press release from Wheeler’s office on Friday, Sept. 3.
Texas has banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a time when many, if not most, women may not yet realize they are pregnant. It allows private citizens anywhere in the United States to sue anyone they believe has helped a pregnant woman get an abortion in Texas after the six week limit.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the law from taking effect late Thursday on a 5-to-4 vote.
“This law does not demonstrate concern for the health, safety and well-being of those who may become pregnant. This law does not recognize or show respect for the human rights of those who may become pregnant. This law rewards private citizens for exercising surveillance and control over others’ bodies. It violates the separation of church and state. And, it will force people to carry pregnancies against their will,” according to the release.