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Woman says Erickson paid for abortion

GOP congressional candidate denies allegations; opponent Mannix mailer reveals charge

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, May 12, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (56 Reader comments)

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A 33-year-old Clackamas County woman alleged Monday that Republican congressional candidate Mike Erickson got her pregnant in 2000 and then paid for her to have an abortion.

The woman and her friend, Kristi Oetken, first attempted to draw attention to the issue in 2006 after receiving a campaign mailer from Erickson touting his endorsement by Oregon Right to Life during Erickson’s first run for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. The woman and her friend said they considered Erickson’s anti-abortion stand hypocritical in light of his experience with the woman.

The issue remained under-the-radar in 2006, however, when both women had second thoughts and declined on-the-record media interviews.

But on Monday, the woman agreed to share her story with the Portland Tribune, after Erickson’s primary opponent, Kevin Mannix, referred to the incident in a campaign mailer and press release. The Portland Tribune agreed to allow the woman to remain anonymous, because she said she was traumatized by the abortion and feared retribution.

“We became pregnant, and not only did he pick me up and drove me to the abortion clinic, he completely encouraged me to do that,” the woman said. On the way to the clinic, “he withdrew $300 from his bank account” at an ATM to pay for the procedure, she said.

Oetken said she held her friend’s hand during the abortion at Bours Health Clinic in the Lloyd District, after Erickson dropped her off. “He didn’t go in, didn’t walk her in, just left her at the door,” Oetken said in an interview with the Portland Tribune last month. “I’d left work and met her there. I can describe it to you — the stairs, the hallway, the little lobby.”

Smear tactics

Lois Anderson, the Oregon Right to Life political director, confirmed in an interview earlier this month that she talked to the woman at length in 2006 and was convinced she was credible. “In her mind, he knew she was pregnant and she told him it was his child,” Anderson said.

Leaders of the group spoke with Erickson about the allegations during the 2006 race.

“He acknowledged knowing her,” Anderson said. “He categorically denied any involvement in fathering a child or any involvement in an abortion,” she said. “As idiotic as it sounds, they were both very credible.”

Erickson declined to comment on the controversy Monday and deferred to his general campaign consultant Cary Evans.

“We just don’t think smear tactics and wild accusations are worthy of the time,” Evans said. “From our point of view, these are the same allegations that surfaced in 2006 and were uncorroborated and unsubstantiated,” he said. “There’s nothing new.”

Evans said the campaign tactic was a sign of Erickson’s lead over Mannix in the GOP primary.

“I think he knows he’s losing and he’s desperate,” Evans said.

Mannix declined to comment on his allegations, deferring to his campaign manager Amy Langdon, former Oregon Republican Party executive director.

“We felt that our opponent has had a pattern of deception, saying one thing when the other is true, and we felt this was part of that,” Langdon said.

On Monday, the Mannix campaign sent a letter from Mannix to about 60,000 Republican voters who have yet to mail in their ballots. The letter referred to — and showed a copy of — an e-mail that Oetken had sent in 2006 to a range of journalists, Oregon Right to Life officials and Erickson.

“It is unfortunate that I am the one who has to release this information to the public considering others have known for some time,” Mannix wrote in the letter. “The e-mail is verified and sheds light on the character of Mike Erickson, who claims he is pro-life,” Langdon wrote in the letter.