Three of four top Republican candidates for governor say they would welcome an impending decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a 50-year federal recognition of abortion rights under the U.S. Constitution.

But during the online forum by the City Club of Portland on Tuesday — two weeks before the primary election in which Republican voters will choose from among 19 candidates — all four said it would take action by the Oregon Legislature to undo a 2017 law that guarantees access to reproductive health services.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, Oregon is just one of four states that have written that guarantee into law — and one of 16 that would protect such rights if the high court reverses its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. The Oregon Legislature removed penalties for abortion four years earlier, back in 1969.

Oregon voters in 2014 approved a constitutional ban on discrimination based on sex, though it does not specify abortion.

KGW anchor Laural Porter, the forum co-moderator, asked where the candidates stood on a leaked draft of a court opinion in a pending case from Mississippi, where a law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Bridget Barton of West Linn, Bud Pierce of Salem and Mayor Stan Pulliam of Sandy all opposed abortion rights, which took up 11 minutes of the 90-minute forum. Former Rep. Christine Drazan of Canby, who had been scheduled to take part, dropped out two hours beforehand; Porter said her campaign did not state a reason.

Gomez: A differing view

Jessica Gomez, a businesswoman from Medford, took the opposite view from the others.

“I really urge the Supreme Court to uphold that. That being said, it’s codified in Oregon state law. For me, you would not see changes to that piece of Oregon law,” Gomez said.

“I think we need to support women’s health. It’s really an important part. Oregon is pro-choice; I am pro-choice.”

But like the others, Gomez said she would oppose state funds to expand the capacity for abortions for women who cannot obtain them elsewhere and come to Oregon.

The most recent Republican to win as governor was Vic Atiyeh, who won a second term in 1982. Republicans believe this is their best chance to win since Chris Dudley came close in 2010.

Pierce, a specialist in oncology and hematology, said he does not consider abortion a medical procedure and says it is not a right under the U.S. Constitution.

But he also said he would abide by the 2017 state law, which requires private insurance to cover abortions and provides state funding for those who do not otherwise qualify for state-supported health insurance because of their immigration status. (The state budget already covers abortions for low-income women in Oregon; voters rejected a 2018 ballot initiative to ban public funding.)

“I believe the states should decide and Oregon has strong laws that currently protect their rights,” Pierce said.

“My effort would be to better support pregnant women in their pregnancies and after the children are born — to support child care and education efforts — so no one feels the pressure to have an abortion because they feel it’s too much, too overwhelming to bring a child into the world.”

Asked by Porter whether he was shifting his stance from 2016, when he was the Republican nominee for governor, Pierce said his religious convictions have deepened since the 2020 death of his wife, Selma, after a sport utility vehicle struck her while she was walking near home.

Barton: ‘Long way to go’

Barton, a political strategist who ran for the Legislature twice in the 1990s, said that stance was not strong enough for her. She said she opposes public funding of abortions and legislative expansion of abortion capacity. She also said she would seek to ban abortions after the second trimester; Oregon is among the few states with no limits on the procedure.

“We have a long way to go to push back from where we are,” she said.

Asked what she would do if she is elected governor, Barton said: “Without legislative approval, clearly nothing. As the governor, I would need to have the Legislature act first. As you know, we have super-minorities at this moment. We will see what we get coming forward with a red wave.”

When Republican held majorities in both chambers, a 1995 bill requiring parental notification before someone under 18 could obtain an abortion passed the Senate but failed in the House. A similar bill passed both chambers four years later, but then-Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber vetoed it. Kitzhaber also vetoed a Department of Human Services budget that omitted money for abortions; lawmakers then passed another budget that contained the money.

Barton and Pierce won endorsements from Oregon Right to Life, along with Drazan and former Rep. Bob Tiernan, who was not on the panel.

Pulliam: ‘I deserve it’

Pulliam said he should have been endorsed as well.

“These answers are a complete embarrassment to anyone who has received the Oregon Right to Life endorsement,” he said.

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. This is what all the hard work, the donations and the activism have been all about — the overturning of Roe v. Wade. When I say life begins at conception, I have not changed from the day before this announcement (sic) was revealed to what it is today. I will sign any piece of pro-life legislation that comes across my desk.

“I certainly deserve the endorsement, and I think they should look at it again.”

KGW’s Porter referred to news disclosures about Pulliam and his wife having explored relationships with other couples outside of marriage.

Porter: “They didn’t endorse you because other parts of your life didn’t square with what they feel are their conservative …”

Pulliam: “With their mission?”

Porter: “… values.”

Pulliam: “I apologize, but I don’t see any of those things in their mission statement.”