Oregon
Sex Laws 2026

Oregon's age of consent is 18. There is a close-in-age exemption: sexual activity with a 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old is not a felony if the defendant is less than three years older, under Oregon Revised Statutes Section 163.345.

Oregon requires comprehensive sex education that is medically accurate, inclusive of LGBTQ+ relationships and identities, and includes consent education. The mandate is one of the stronger ones in the West. Oregon updated its sex education standards in 2009 and has continued to strengthen the requirements. Schools must cover contraception, STI prevention, healthy relationships, and reproductive health.

Oregon's adult entertainment environment is permissive. Portland has a well-known adult entertainment industry, including a significant number of strip clubs per capita. Oregon's strong free speech tradition under Article I, Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution provides broader speech protections than the First Amendment alone, and this has shielded adult entertainment businesses from local restrictions. The Oregon Supreme Court has consistently struck down attempts to restrict adult entertainment through zoning or content restrictions.

Age 18. Oregon has comprehensive, medically accurate, LGBTQ+ inclusive sex ed mandate. One of the more progressive Western states.

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• Oregon School District Pays $650,000 for Firing Teachers Opposed to ‘Trans’ Policy - Focus on the FamilyNov 17
• Oregon's New Sex Ed Curriculum Has More Than Just Birds And Bees - Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPBJun 3
• State Policy Trends 2023: In the First Full Year Since Roe Fell, a Tumultuous Year for Abortion and Other Reproductive Health Care - Guttmacher InstituteDec 19
• Many states don’t require schools to teach sex ed. A new bill hopes to change that. - The 19th NewsAug 22
• Sex Education Standards Across the States - Center for American ProgressMay 9