Portland City Council Backs Down from Cutting Off Business with Texas...for Now

Julio Rosas | September 08, 2021 3:00 PM

Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) announced on Wednesday the city council decided to postpone the vote it was expected to conduct on cutting off business ties with Texas in response to its new pro-life law.

"We decided to postpone this item so City Council can work together to best understand the impact of this important decision," Wheeler tweeted.

City Council is working together to best understand the impact of the emergency resolution regarding our business with Texas. We decided to postpone this item so City Council can work together to best understand the impact of this important decision.
— Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) September 8, 2021

In a statement released last week, Wheeler said the reason for the ban on doing business with Texas, along with a ban on government work travel to the state, was because the new law is going to stop "an estimated 85% of all abortion procedures in the state."

"The ban will be in effect until the state of Texas withdraws its unconstitutional ban on abortion or until it is overturned in court. City legal counsel is currently evaluating the legal aspects of this proposed resolution. The Portland City Council stands unified in its belief that all people should have the right to choose if and when they carry a pregnancy and that the decisions they make are complex, difficult, and unique to their circumstances."
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"This law does not demonstrate concern for the health, safety, and well-being of those who may become pregnant. This law does not recognize or show respect for the human rights of those who may become pregnant. This law rewards private individuals for exercising surveillance and control over others’ bodies. It violates the separation of church and state. And, it will force people to carry pregnancies against their will."