An initiative to ban state funding for abortions in Oregon narrowly qualified for the ballot on Friday.

Supporters of Initiative Petition 1 submitted 117,799 valid signatures, state election workers determined. That's just 221 signatures above the minimum required to secure a state constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

Oregon Life United relied on volunteers to gather the signatures, The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported. The proposal is expected to appear on the ballot as Measure 106.

It's the fourth and final initiative to qualify for the general election. The others include:

Initiative Petition 31, which would amend Oregon's Constitution to require a three-fifths

Initiative Petition 37, which

Initiative Petition 22, which would repeal

Voters will also decide whether to pass Referral 401, a measure placed on the ballot by lawmakers. It would allow local governments to issue bonds to pay for affordable housing projects that involve nonprofits or other nongovernmental entities.

Also Friday, state officials signed off on an estimate that Oregon could face an additional cost of $4.8 million a year to provide health care and other services to mothers and babies if voters pass Measure 106. The federal government could spend an additional $14.5 million annually to care for the families.

Marylin Shannon of Brooks, one of the chief petitioners on the initiative, said supporters expect abortion rights groups will mount a well-funded campaign against it.

"We're hoping we'll win on the issue," Shannon said. "What we really want people to know is that this measure will not outlaw abortion in Oregon. It only stops the public funding of it."

Abortion rights groups including NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon are working with other advocacy organizations and public employee unions to campaign against Measure 106. The prohibition on using public funds for abortions would also impact public employees' health insurance, which currently covers the procedures.

"The right to health care is the foundation of freedom and opportunity for women and their families," Grayson Dempsey, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, wrote in a news release. "No one should be denied care because of how much they make or how they are insured."

--Hillary Borrud

503-294-4034; @hborrud





