Oregon House passes bill to strengthen privacy protections for reproductive and gender-affirming care

The Oregon House on Feb. 16 passed House Bill 4,088, the "Strengthening Patient and Provider Privacy Act," a measure backers said will protect Oregon patients and health-care providers from out‑of‑state and federal investigations and preserve access to care that is lawful in the state.

"Oregon has long been clear that personal health-care decisions belong to patients and their health-care providers," Representative Fragla, the bill sponsor, said in opening remarks urging support. "House Bill 4,088 is about protecting providers' ability to safely provide care and about protecting patients' ability to receive legal, evidence‑based health care."

Supporters argued the measure clarifies that state agencies and courts should not cooperate with investigations or extradition requests tied to reproductive or gender‑affirming care that is lawful in Oregon, broadens confidentiality for individually identifiable health information, and extends privacy protections to provider contact information and certain court records. Representative Anderson said the bill is a necessary safeguard "to ensure that Oregon does not aid other states that seek to restrict access in Oregon to reproductive health care and gender-affirming care."

Opponents said the bill goes too far, creating a legal firewall that could impede accountability, research, and cross‑border investigations. Representative Bobby Levy called it "sweeping legal protections so broad, so insulated from oversight that it will cause more problems than it claims to solve," and urged colleagues to reject the measure. Representative Diehl warned that increasing malpractice litigation and recent jury awards show a need for scrutiny rather than expanded protection.

Debate on the House floor covered a range of concerns: supporters described the bill as a response to federal or out‑of‑state threats to Oregon providers and patients; opponents raised examples of malpractice cases and said the bill could restrict cooperation in trafficking or abuse investigations and make it harder to obtain records needed for research into outcomes and complications. Representative Scarlatos noted that a recent out‑of‑state case involved a minor trafficked across state lines and said that limiting cooperation could hinder justice for victims.

The clerk read portions of the bill on the floor, which include sections limiting state cooperation with foreign subpoenas and extradition for non‑fugitive cases tied to legally protected reproductive or gender‑affirming activities, expanding public‑records exemptions for certain health‑related files, and adding confidentiality protections for individually identifiable information held by the Oregon Health Authority. A point of order earlier in the reading raised accessibility concerns when Representative Reschke asked for ASL interpretation on the floor; the presiding officer said it was not required but would consider the request.

After the close of debate, the Speaker called for final passage. The clerk recorded at least two roll‑call entries aloud (Representative Krepp voted "aye" and Representative Harbick voted "no"), and the presiding officer declared that House Bill 4,088 "having received the constitutional majority, is declared passed." The bill text specifies emergency operation language and delayed operative dates for certain provisions.

The House completed other routine business and adjourned until 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. The bill will proceed through the legislative process as provided by state procedure.