Healthcare Ceremonial Bill Signing Remarks

May 13, 2026 

Thank you. It is an honor to be in this health center, with the incredible people who keep its doors open. 

Because what happens inside these walls – the conversations, the prescriptions, the screenings – is health care. And in Oregon, we believe that health care is a right. 

I want to express some appreciation. To Senator Reynolds, Senator Patterson, and Representative Fragala – the chief sponsors who championed these bills throughout the session. To every legislator in this room who fought for them and voted yes.  

To the doctors, nurses, and clinic staff at Planned Parenthood. To the Oregon Medical Association, Basic Rights Oregon, ACLU of Oregon, and to everyone who has spent the last year – and the last five decades – fighting for the simple idea that a person's body belongs to them. 

Oregonians believe that medical decisions should be made by those seeking care, and that these are personal decisions made in consultation with qualified medical providers. Not a politician in Washington, D.C. Not a judge. Not an employer. And we strive for a health care system where cost is not a barrier to basic prevention.  

These three bills don't just respond to the moment – they build a stronger wall between Oregon families and the overreach of the Trump administration. 

The first bill, House Bill 4088, strengthens Oregon’s Shield Law – the law I signed in 2023 to protect doctors who provide reproductive and gender-affirming care that is fully legal here. With it, those providers are better protected from civil lawsuits, from professional discipline, from out-of-state subpoenas – from the intimidation being weaponized against them across this country. In Oregon, when you care for your patients, the State of Oregon stands with you. 

The second bill is House Bill 4127. When the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress stripped Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood last year, clinics in other states began closing their doors. Patients in those states lost access to care – including cancer screenings, birth control, and STI testing. We refused to let that happen here. We provided stop gap funding through the Emergency Board and now House Bill 4127 finishes the job. 

  

This law keeps Planned Parenthood health centers across Oregon open in the wake of federal defunding by ensuring access to reimbursement for Oregon Health Plan patients. This means more than 42,000 Oregonians on the Oregon Health Plan keep their care, uninterrupted. 

And finally, Senate Bill 1598 tells the federal government that when they dismantle and politicize the checks and balances that keep us all safe, Oregonians will have the resources and information to stay healthy. Our Public Health Officer can now issue a statewide prescription for the immunizations recommended by trusted medical organizations and defended by the best evidence – and insurers must cover them, at no cost to the patient.  

Last year when Oregon faced disruption to respiratory vaccines, I worked quickly to restore access to pharmacy services.  I joined our neighbors to create the West Coast Health Alliance, because public health does not stop at a state line. Alongside California, Washington, and Hawaii, we are making sure everyone who wants a vaccine can have one and that our public health policies are grounded in the best medical advice from trusted organizations. Because of these efforts, and now with SB1598, Oregon is in a better position to ensure Oregonian’s don’t experience new costs or barriers to basic health care because of federal chaos. 

Since the Dobbs decision, since President Trump took office, and since Congressional Republicans approved his destructive budget into law – every person in this room has watched the federal government try to turn back the clock on freedoms we fought for and won. 

Freedom for providers to care for patients. Freedom for people to make their own health care decisions.  

Oregonians value those freedoms. And the federal government can’t take those things from us without a fight. 

We protect science. We protect health care. We protect people.  

I’m honored and humbled to be standing alongside so many brave healthcare heroes today. You are the frontline warriors in this fight. Thank you. And thank you to everyone who made these new laws happen this year. Let’s keep fighting.