Oregon HB 2758 Forces Parents to Pay For Child’s Abortion (But Can’t Know What They’re Paying For)

Sometimes I wonder at the stupidity that is Oregon politics.  Everything they do in Salem is supposedly for the “good” of the state and the inhabitants thereof.  We have a Democrat super majority and anything they want they shall have. Stricter gun laws? Done. Legalization of marijuana? Done. Tickets for smokers who smoke in the car with children present? Done.

The list of stupid bills that have passed the Oregon legislature is so long that I don’t have the time to list them all.  All of these bills annoy me in some way or other. All of them cause inconvenience, possible danger, and most importantly stripping citizens of rights that belong to them, naturally.

One that has popped up on my radar screen (and obliterated it) is House Bill 2758. Two of the three sponsors of this bill, Representative Burdick and Representative Barnhart, are extremely progressive and are a couple of the most complained about Reps, in conservative or libertarian circles, in Oregon.

Here is the actual text of the bill:

Prohibits carrier or third party administrator from disclosing to persons, other than enrollee who receives [sensitive] health services, protected health information relating to [sensitive] services provided to enrollee. Requires carrier and third party administrator to adopt procedures for enrollee to request to have [personal] protected health information protected from disclosure to policyholder or certificate holder [if enrollee fears that disclosure will result in harassment or abuse of enrollee or will undermine enrollee’s ability to access health care] and redirected to enrollee. Declares emergency, effective on passage.

It’s very clear, but just in case you need some help, here’s the plain speak definition:  Your child can receive an abortion that you will have to pay for but you are not allowed to know what you’re paying for. In other words, you will be billed for services that you weren’t aware of and are not allowed to know what they even were. And why? Because if your daughter gets pregnant and wants an abortion she shouldn’t have to tell her parents because she might get punished for it. Or even worse, she won’t be allowed to get the abortion. Stripping the parents’ ability to shepherd their children through life. And this is not just for abortions, it is for anything they deem sensitive for any child, boy or girl.

This protects children from their own parents. Bureaucrats creating laws to put the welfare of a child in the hands of insurance companies and legislators to do the job that parents have the God given right and responsibility to do.

This is sad for so many reasons. Many parents may be hurt, confused, angry, or disappointed by an unexpected pregnancy. But in the end, good parents want what’s best for their children. They have every right to know what is going on with the health of their child so they can help that child make the right decisions. Who better to help than a parent who knows their child since before they were born?

This is an absolutely breathtaking usurpation of parental rights. All because there may have been one or two extreme cases where a child was harmed by an unhinged parent when faced with abortion or some other sensitive health concern.

Word of advice to anyone thinking of moving here to Oregon:  Don’t.