State Sen. Suzanne Weber said she was excused from Senate floor sessions on May 3 and May 4 for medical reasons, but the Tillamook Republican indicated her full support of Republican colleagues who walked out to prevent a quorum ahead of a looming vote on a bill that would expand access to abortion and gender-affirming care.

Weber said in an email to The Astorian that her absence from the chamber was due to a dental emergency. “However, I stand with my colleagues who are protesting both the extreme content of this unnecessary bill as well as the Senate president’s blatant disregard for Senate rules, the law and the constitution,” she wrote.

Partnering with Rep. Emily McIntire, an Eagle Point Republican, and Oregon Right to Life, Weber filed a lawsuit against House and Senate Democratic leaders over House Bill 2002, claiming that the bill summary violates state law and the Oregon Constitution because it does not pass a readability test.

To encourage plain language, the law requires bill summaries to have a score of at least 60 on the Flesch readability test or an equivalent standard on a comparable test. The score reflects an eighth-grade reading level.

Marion County Circuit Court Judge David Leith denied a petition on May 4 requesting the court temporarily block Senate Democrats from passing the bill, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Leith signaled serious misgivings that the case would ultimately succeed, according to the report, nodding to arguments from government lawyers that the court had no authority to block the Legislature from doing its job.

“I don’t see any likelihood of success in persuading the court … to enjoin that legislative function,” Leith said.

Democrats, who hold majorities in the Legislature, have advanced HB 2002 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer overturning the constitutional right to abortion nationwide and to threats against transgender rights.

The legislation is meant to strengthen reproductive rights in Oregon, where abortion remains legal, and expand access to gender-affirming care.

Weber, who represents the North Coast, said she opposes the bill.

“It apparently isn’t enough to the more extremist members of the Legislature that Oregon has some of the most liberal abortion and transgender laws in the country,” she said. “They demand more. This isn’t a fight I wanted or sought out, but it’s one I will stand up for.”

Weber noted that in her campaign for Senate last year, she had no intention of “instigating any social issue fights.”

“That’s not where I believe the people of rural Northwest Oregon’s attention is for the most part,” she said. “However, what my constituents are very concerned about is the right to live their lives and raise their families the way they see fit. HB 2002 takes away the rights of parents to have involvement in their children’s personal decisions.”

Weber and other Republicans have attacked a provision of the bill that would make clear that minors under 15 do not need parental notification for an abortion.

During her Senate campaign, Weber, who describes herself as “pro-life,” downplayed abortion as an issue in Oregon in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling and told The Astorian that she did not anticipate abortion coming before the Legislature this session.

Melissa Busch, a Democrat and home health nurse from Warren who lost to Weber in the November election, took to Facebook to call out Weber’s leading role in trying to block HB 2002.

“It seems quite contradictory to her statements throughout the campaign for Senate, where she frequently stated that she did not anticipate abortion to come before the Legislature this session,” Busch said in an email.

She said Weber’s actions “seem quite opposite of the stances she presented publicly when running for her position.”

In recent years, Republicans in the Legislature have used walkouts as a tool to block Democrats from advancing legislation. In addition to the abortion bill, the House has passed a gun control bill that now awaits Senate action.

Rep. Cyrus Javadi, a Tillamook Republican who represents the North Coast, voted against the abortion bill and the gun control bill.

Senate Republican walkouts could provide the first test of Measure 113, a ballot measure approved by voters in November that bars lawmakers with 10 unexcused absences in a legislative session from running for reelection.

Republicans are expected to challenge the constitutionality of the law if any GOP lawmakers reach the threshold for unexcused absences.

Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, called the Republican walkout “deliberate, organized, somewhat cynical” given the new law.

“Senate Democrats remain committed to hearing and voting on HB 2002, along with all the other important bills that remain to be passed,” Dembrow said in a statement.