Though she has always considered herself pro-life, Oregon Representative Tracy Cramer (R—Gervais) once thought that abortion might be okay if the woman didn’t use tax dollars to pay for it. But when a friend challenged her, Cramer realized she could no longer in good conscience support the purposeful ending of unborn life, no matter who funds the procedure.
“When it comes to caring about abortion, you’re talking about multiple lives being affected — or ended — but more times than not, that’s not where it ends,” says Cramer, a small business owner who is currently pregnant with her fourth child. “This is affecting women’s health, mental health and so much more.”
Cramer won her election in 2022, beating out Democrat Anthony Medina, a Woodburn school board member, to win House District 22. That district covers Woodburn, Northeast Salem and some portions of Marion County. It’s a life path Cramer, 34, never saw coming.
“I was the kid in the back who would almost get sick having to give a small speech to my peers,” she says. “I had an option to pass [politics] by and not get involved — we all have that option — but the truth is, if we want change but don’t act on it, then that finger we are pointing should just be turned back at ourselves. This is my community, my Oregon, my children’s future! What good am I if all I do is sit around talking about it?”
Lois Anderson, Oregon Right to Life’s Executive Director, is certainly glad that Cramer, whom ORTL endorsed in 2022, did more than talk.
“Tracy beat the odds in her first race. Many in the political establishment didn’t believe she could win,” Anderson says. “She worked hard and didn’t back away from her values. She is a great role model for how moms can do anything!”
Cramer’s legislative priorities in 2024 include working on Measure 110 (the drug decriminalization law passed in 2020) and sponsoring a bill making it illegal not to help a baby born alive after a failed abortion. She believes that building a pro-mother and pro-family culture, alongside increased education about human development and Oregon’s permissive abortion law, is the best way to turn the pro-choice tide.
“Oregon may be a tough place to be pro-life, but I don’t think we are as separated as the media would have you believe,” she says. “There is always hope.”
