PORTLAND, Ore — With the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and major cases on the high court’s list dealing with abortion, same-sex marriage, and healthcare, many Oregonians are wondering what this could mean locally.

Many speculate because of Barrett’s seemingly conservative side, that she might rule to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case. However, law experts say judges are often hard to read.Volume 90% Oregon law protects reproductive rights if Roe v. Wade overturned. (KATU)

Law experts like Tung Yin, who is a law professor at Lewis and Clark College says even if some of these rulings are overturned. like Roe v Wade or Obergfell vs. Hodges, which deals directly with same-sex marriage, it would likely have little effect in Oregon because Oregon already has laws in place.

“If [Roe v. Wade] were overturned, all it would mean is that the constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion, but a state could provide that, and in Oregon it does,” Yin said.

Oregon was one of the first states to legalize abortion. In fact, the right to an abortion is protected in the state constitution.

And at that point, any state could make its own laws about abortion.

“State legislatures have generally far more power, the only limits are imposed by their state constitution or the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights,” Yin said.

Yin says the only way a state would be prevented from legalizing abortions is if there were a crime attached to it.

When it comes to the Affordable Care Act, there are a few more possibilities.

“Oregon could certainly implement its own version within the state. That would not help people outside the state, but within the state. Nothing in the Affordable Care Act rulings would prevent the states from doing so,” Yin said.

In fact, so could Congress.

In DC, lawmakers could go back to the drawing board on the Affordable Care Act, so to speak, and pass a new version.

As for what will happen, time will tell, but on Monday, Governor Brown’s office released this statement on the possibility:

The Governor recognizes that many Oregonians are worried about the impacts the decisions and rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court in the months to come will have on their family, their health care, their right to marry, or their immigration status. For example, striking down the Affordable Care Act would have dangerous consequences for Oregonians with pre-existing conditions and families who rely on it for necessary preventive and non-preventive health care coverage. If that law is invalidated, more than 546,000 Oregonians could lose coverage.

Here in Oregon, Governor Brown has been a champion for access to health care, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, and for our immigrant and refugee communities. She’s fought to improve the quality of health care all Oregonians receive, as well as eliminating health disparities and improving access to care; signed Oregon’s Reproductive Health Equity Act into law in 2017; championed driver’s licenses for all and protections for our dreamers; and championed Adi’s Act to help prevent youth suicide, ban conversion therapy, and make Oregon the first state to pass a stand-alone transgender justice bill.

The Governor is committed to fighting to protect the rights of each and every Oregonian and ensuring our state will be a welcoming, inclusive state for all who call Oregon home.

Source: https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-law-protects-reproductive-rights-in-event-of-roe-v-wade-overturn?fbclid=IwAR11kTgKrXB-TpUtQWfma3uyxWf8IqdXKdSZhNI9DCFk0TPPOSR74y40cls