Judge strikes down Oregon abortion insurance coverage mandate in Eugene

A federal judge in Eugene struck down Oregon’s abortion insurance coverage mandate, a ruling that could change what some Lane County workers, families and employers pay for reproductive care while the state prepares to appeal.

U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai issued the ruling from the bench in Eugene and said he would later release a written opinion. The case centers on Oregon’s Reproductive Health Equity Act, known as House Bill 3391, which lawmakers enacted in 2017 to require state-regulated health plans to cover a broad range of reproductive health services without cost sharing, including abortion and contraception.

For most Oregonians with state-regulated coverage, the practical question now is whether those no-cost protections remain intact during the court fight. Oregon says the law generally applies to plans issued, renewed or modified on or after Jan. 1, 2019, and it reaches many individual, small-group and large-group plans. If the ruling stands or expands, it could affect what some employers offer and what patients face at the pharmacy counter or on an insurance bill.

Gov. Tina Kotek and Attorney General Dan Rayfield said the state will defend the law and appeal. Rayfield said the ruling appears narrow and tied to Oregon Right to Life’s specific religious-exemption claim. Oregon Right to Life said it was pleased with the decision.

The lawsuit, filed in 2023, argues the mandate cannot be imposed on the organization because of religious objections. A federal judge dismissed the case in 2024, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals revived it in October 2025 and sent it back for further proceedings before Kasubhai.

The ruling lands in a state with a long reproductive-health framework. Oregon’s Department of Justice says the state’s protections also include the 2007 Access to Contraception law and 2023 Reproductive Health and Access to Care legislation, with roots going back to Ballot Measure 7 in 1978, when voters protected state funding for abortion.

Even as the court fight continues, Oregon health officials say the state has a backup system for people whose plans do not include abortion coverage. The Oregon Health Authority says the Abortion Access Plan can pay for abortion services for some people with plans that exclude that benefit, including some Providence members and people covered through religious employers.

That safety net may blunt the ruling’s immediate effect for some patients, but it also underscores how much of Oregon’s abortion access depends on a mix of insurance rules, public programs and court decisions now being tested in Eugene.