An initiative to ban state-funded abortions in Oregon could become the first ballot measure put before the state's voters without the aid of paid signature-gatherers since 2000.

Oregon Life United, the political action committee behind the anti-abortion initiative, has collected about 120,000 signatures, said Jeff Jimerson, a Corvallis resident and director of the committee. The group needs at least 117,578 valid signatures by July 6 to get its proposed measure on the ballot. It aims to collect 150,000 to account for the large share of signatures it anticipates will be deemed invalid, he said.

The initiative would prohibit the use of state funds to pay for abortions except in cases of rape and incest or instances where the mother's life is at stake, in line with federal regulations that have strictly limited the use of federal money to pay for abortions since 1976.

If backers are successful, their measure would be the first anti-abortion measure on the ballot in more than a decade. A 2006 measure would have required abortion providers to provide 48-hour written notice to parents or guardians of unemancipated minors seeking abortions. Voters rejected it 55 percent to 45 percent.

Oregon Life United has tried twice before, without success, to get the same initiative before Oregon voters. This year they have managed to collect more signatures, Jimerson said, largely because the organization's structure is larger and more experienced. In 2012 and 2014, it took 116,284 valid signatures to get an initiative on the ballot. The group gathered about 72,000 signatures in 2012 and about 98,000 in 2014, Jimerson said.

He is optimistic things will be different this year and voters will see the proposal on the November ballot.

Oregon is the only state that has not implemented restrictions on abortion since the historic 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. It is one of 17 states that allow state funds to pay for abortion.

In 2017, Gov. Kate Brown signed a new law that requires health plans sold in Oregon to cover a variety of services, including abortion, at no out-of-pocket cost to those insured. This applies to Oregonians insured under the Oregon Health Plan, the state- and federally-funded Medicaid program.

Proponents of state-mandated abortion coverage have argued that it makes reproductive health services accessible to all, especially those who can't afford an abortion out-of-pocket, and could be more cost-effective for the state in the long-run. Opponents have argued that taxpayer money should not go towards abortions, citing moral opposition due to personal and religious beliefs.

If the initiative ends up on the ballot and voters approve it, abortions would no longer be covered under the Oregon Health Plan. In 2015-2016, the health plan paid $2.4 million for 3,769 abortions, or about $642 per procedure, according to Oregon Health Authority documents received through a public records request. The Oregon Health Authority does not publish the cost data on their website.

Historically in Oregon, anti-abortion ballot initiatives have either not drawn enough signatures to appear on the ballot or been shot down by voters. Since 1999, according to the Secretary of State's website, there have been 16 initiatives relating to abortion. Only the 2006 measure to require parental notice made the ballot.

In recent years, volunteer-only petition circulation has not succeeded. The last time an initiative made the ballot without the help of paid signature-gatherers was in 2000. Three volunteer-led initiatives made the ballot that year: one to regulate gun sales, another to ban body-gripping animal traps and a third to limit what schools could teach about homosexuality. Only the one requiring background checks for guns sales passed.

This election cycle, Oregon Life United filed the paperwork to allow the option to pay petitioners. But Jimerson said they haven't done so.

He credits the increased number of signatures gathered this year to time spent building a network of supporters, which "grows and grows each time we try it," he said.

The initiative is mostly backed by Christian churches from various denominations, including Catholic, Nazarene, Mormon, Lutheran and Baptist, as well as religious leaders such as Archbishop Alexander Sample, who heads the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, said Jimerson.

Jimerson estimated that about 600 churches have volunteered to circulate the petition to members and almost 7,000 people have returned petitions with multiple signatures. Other supporters include pro-life groups and pro-life pregnancy centers.

In the coming weeks, before a self-imposed June 30 deadline and the official July 6 deadline, backers' strategy is to mail petitions to households they think will be in support, Jimerson said, thanks to partnerships with other organizations with large mailing lists. He declined to name the organizations. Organizers will also continue relying on volunteers and organizations to collect signatures and mail them back in time, he said.

-- Corlyn Voorhees