The 2018 Democratic Party of Oregon Platform
Article 6 - HEALTHCARE, BASIC NEEDS AND GUN SAFETY
Oregon Democrats affirm the equality of every individual and the rights of all to be treated with dignity and respect. We believe all people have an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We realize that true freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence for all. As such, we believe in a strong social safety net that provides the basic necessities of life, including health care as a human right. The absence of a comprehensive mental and behavioral healthcare system is destroying lives and undermining the economy and is therefore unacceptable. We support all necessary measures to counter serious threats to public safety such as gun violence. We seek a world in which all persons may live in peace and free from oppression of all forms. Society thrives when everyone has access to public services and infrastructure.
Planks:
1. We strongly support women’s rights to reproductive freedom, including unrestricted access to reproductive health care, regardless of ability to pay. This means unrestricted access to affordable, high-quality, culturally sensitive care, the full range of reproductive services, contraception, and abortion, without requiring guardian, judicial, parental, or spousal consent or notification.
2. We support the right of all Oregonians to access the basic necessities of life such as food, water, health care, sleep, and shelter. Therefore we support the establishment of Universal Basic Income.
3. We believe in protecting the vulnerable from neglect and abuse, especially children, the medically fragile, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
4. We believe all consenting adult couples should have the equal and unequivocal right to civil marriage. We further believe that Oregon’s LGBTQ+ community deserves to live their lives without the fear of violence, employment discrimination, disproportionate exposure to poverty, or gaps in health care access which haunt this community.
5. We support the 2nd Amendment and believe that hunting, sport shooting, and safe, responsible gun ownership are traditions worth preserving for future generations. We thus support comprehensive background checks for all gun sales and believe in measures to reduce firearm-related violence, injury, death, and to promote public safety.
6. We support the adoption of an equitable, high-quality, comprehensive single-payer health care system that includes general, preventative, and emergency care plus vision, dental, hearing, and mental health services at the state or federal level.
7. We believe in the right of every Oregonian to safe, healthy, and affordable housing and shelter. As such, we support action to address the epidemic of displacement from housing within our local communities and across the state.
8. We support the right for everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, and the full funding of all nutrition programs.
9. We believe freedom of the press and accuracy of the press are vital to a healthy democracy. We believe truth is a foundational cornerstone of public freedom and attempts to present counterfactual claims as truth in order to achieve political ends contravenes our freedom and is thus unacceptable.
10. We believe an educated and enlightened citizenry is essential to a democratic society. As such, we believe that our news media must be free to investigate and criticize the government without fear of retaliation by our government.
11. We promote health insurance and medical coverage of the full range of mental health services and treatment for women, including early screening and intervention for postpartum depression.
12. We support women's (and particularly women of color’s) reproductive rights by calling for reparations for all women who were sterilized without consent in jails, prisons, and state institutions.
13. We believe health care is a human right. We believe in free, universal, quality health care including pharmaceuticals, and dental and mental health for all.
14. We support generally accepted holistic healing practices and alternative medicine, particularly those areas licensed by the state such as acupuncture and medical cannabis especially when utilized to relieve intractable pain without the side effects of conventional controlled drugs.
15. We believe in ensuring economic and physical access to multilingual services (such as health care) and that we must address healthcare disparities and promote the goals of the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.
16. We support authorizing state and federal governments to negotiate drug prices with transparency.
17. We support a ban on the civilian sale and purchase of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
18. We promote comprehensive, stable, and easily accessible mental health services to address the immediate needs of individuals up to and including inpatient and residential care when needed, regardless of patient circumstances.
2. We support the right of all Oregonians to access the basic necessities of life such as food, water, health care, sleep, and shelter. Therefore we support the establishment of Universal Basic Income.
3. We believe in protecting the vulnerable from neglect and abuse, especially children, the medically fragile, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
4. We believe all consenting adult couples should have the equal and unequivocal right to civil marriage. We further believe that Oregon’s LGBTQ+ community deserves to live their lives without the fear of violence, employment discrimination, disproportionate exposure to poverty, or gaps in health care access which haunt this community.
5. We support the 2nd Amendment and believe that hunting, sport shooting, and safe, responsible gun ownership are traditions worth preserving for future generations. We thus support comprehensive background checks for all gun sales and believe in measures to reduce firearm-related violence, injury, death, and to promote public safety.
6. We support the adoption of an equitable, high-quality, comprehensive single-payer health care system that includes general, preventative, and emergency care plus vision, dental, hearing, and mental health services at the state or federal level.
7. We believe in the right of every Oregonian to safe, healthy, and affordable housing and shelter. As such, we support action to address the epidemic of displacement from housing within our local communities and across the state.
8. We support the right for everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, and the full funding of all nutrition programs.
9. We believe freedom of the press and accuracy of the press are vital to a healthy democracy. We believe truth is a foundational cornerstone of public freedom and attempts to present counterfactual claims as truth in order to achieve political ends contravenes our freedom and is thus unacceptable.
10. We believe an educated and enlightened citizenry is essential to a democratic society. As such, we believe that our news media must be free to investigate and criticize the government without fear of retaliation by our government.
11. We promote health insurance and medical coverage of the full range of mental health services and treatment for women, including early screening and intervention for postpartum depression.
12. We support women's (and particularly women of color’s) reproductive rights by calling for reparations for all women who were sterilized without consent in jails, prisons, and state institutions.
13. We believe health care is a human right. We believe in free, universal, quality health care including pharmaceuticals, and dental and mental health for all.
14. We support generally accepted holistic healing practices and alternative medicine, particularly those areas licensed by the state such as acupuncture and medical cannabis especially when utilized to relieve intractable pain without the side effects of conventional controlled drugs.
15. We believe in ensuring economic and physical access to multilingual services (such as health care) and that we must address healthcare disparities and promote the goals of the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.
16. We support authorizing state and federal governments to negotiate drug prices with transparency.
17. We support a ban on the civilian sale and purchase of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.
18. We promote comprehensive, stable, and easily accessible mental health services to address the immediate needs of individuals up to and including inpatient and residential care when needed, regardless of patient circumstances.
