Paul Song is a sexist bully. It is not right to refer to any woman as a "whore." We do not need people practicing medicine in our country who refer any woman in public as a "whore."

Before I was elected to the Oregon Legislature, I worked in the tech sector – an industry that is dominated by men and often criticized for wage discrepancy among employees based on their gender. But unequal pay isn’t just a problem in the tech sector. In most industries women are paid less than their male coworkers. Today is Equal Pay Day, a symbol of the length of time women would have to work into the next year to make the same amount of money as their male counterparts. For women of color, the wage gap is even greater than the often quoted 79 cents on the dollar. In 2015, I took action on these discrepancies and championed legislation that would expand Oregon’s equal pay law, increase wage transparency, and protect employees from retaliation – a critical reform that empowers works to seek better pay. But we’re not done. I’m calling on Congress to do more to make it equal – and I hope you’ll join me. Sign the petition: Tell Congress that it’s time for equal pay for equal work. Let’s build momentum to take this important step for equality. Join me today.

Q: When do WORLD CHAMPS get paid far less than LOSERS? A: When they're women playing World Cup Soccer. That's right, the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team — which recently won the World Cup in a final that was the most watched soccer game in American TV history with approximately 23 million viewers — is paid far less than the men at nearly every level of competition, from playing "friendly” matches, to qualifying and playing in the World Cup. Now, several members of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team are taking action to level the playing and paying field by filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) because the U.S. Soccer Federation pays the reigning World Cup champions far less than their male counterparts. Equal pay matters on every field. Believe it or not, what happens on the sports playing field directly impacts corporate field. A new study found the correlation between women’s success on sports playing fields and success in the workplace is indisputable. "Girls who play sports have greater social and economic mobility, grow up healthy and confident, and perform better in school. In fact, 74% of executive women agreed that a background in sports can help accelerate a woman’s leadership and career potential.” - Fortune Magazine. So support the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and all women, and sign on now!

All women are affected by unequal pay. This is a striking example of inequity.

Donald Trump revealed what we have known for a long time: Anti-abortion zealots in the GOP want to punish women. Many PA State Representatives are jumping on Trump’s “Women Must be Punished” bandwagon. This ban is part of the plan by anti-choice zealots to punish women and criminalize doctors who perform abortions. Here is what you need to know about 20-week bans: 20-Week Bans Are Part of an Agenda to Ban All Abortion: The introduction of these bans doesn’t come in isolation. They’re part of a dangerous, out-of-touch, and coordinated effort to chip away at abortion access. Anti-abortion politicians in the General Assembly are pushing their agenda, bit by bit, to ultimately outlaw abortion completely. 20-Week Bans Criminalize Doctors: Politicians shouldn’t have the right to take options away from doctors in dangerous medical situations or prevent them from informing patients about all their health care options — and politicians certainly shouldn’t be allowed to force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term with no chance of survival. 20-Week Bans Are Unpopular: These bills — and the extreme agenda they are part of — are deeply unpopular with the public. When Americans understand the real-world impact of 20-week bans, a solid 60 percent of voters oppose them. In fact, 78 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Republicans, and 71 percent of Independents — say this is the wrong issue for legislators to be spending time on. 20-Week Bans Are Unconstitutional: 20-week bans are unconstitutional and a clear attempt to erode Roe v. Wade at the expense of women’s health. In fact, 20-week ban proponents are outspoken about their goal to challenge the 1973 Supreme Court decision protecting a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion.

Laws that target regulation of abortion providers, or TRAP laws, have been sweeping across the county, including here in North Carolina. Just last year, Governor McCrory signed into effect some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation, directly contradicting his own campaign promise to never do so. McCrory has already said that he’ll vote for Trump if he gets the Republican nomination for president – does McCrory also agree with Trump on his position on abortion? While the nation rightly ridicules the Governor for his misguided and destructive support of HB 2, let’s not forget the other promises he’s broken to women of North Carolina. Tell McCrory to stand with women and let him know that we won’t tolerate his Trump-esque attitudes and actions toward abortion in our state. Women deserve elected leaders who don’t TRAP them in petty partisan games.

The Indiana state legislature just passed a bill that attempts to strip away women's constitutionally protected right to safe and legal choices when it comes to what they can do with their own bodies. HB 1337 is the most dangerous anti-choice legislation this country has ever seen, and we must urge Governor Mike Pence to veto this unconstitutional bill. HB 1337 could be signed into law any day now, but we cannot allow states to continue to perpetuate the war on women by chipping away at their rights. Please join me in urging the state of Indiana to leave women's choices about what to do with their own bodies to WOMEN.

The proposed 20 week ban is another in a line of discriminatory legislation from lawmakers who think they know better than the people of South Dakota.

Indiana is on the verge of passing HEA 1337, a bill that would insert politicians into the private medical decisions of pregnant Hoosiers—adding shame, stigma and barriers at a time when the most critical need is medically accurate information and compassionate care. 1. Creates financial obstacles for pregnant people who access abortion. HEA 1337 requires a pregnant person to receive an ultrasound at the same time they receive (mis)informed consent. This means that (mis)informed consent appointments are longer. Longer appointments means longer wait times for people attempting to meet the state's 18-hour waiting period requirement. This bill makes it harder for a pregnant person to comply with the law. 2. Shames and demeans patients under the guise of compassion. HEA 1337 mandates the burial and cremation of miscarried or aborted remains. This mandate adds unnecessary shaming to patients choosing an abortion and takes away private decision making from very private medical procedures. To complete this process, a pregnant person would have to complete a form – a form that jeopardizes their privacy by requesting their name. 3. Informs with the intent to coerce. HEA 1337 requires the state health department to develop information about perinatal hospice care for people whose pregnancies have been diagnosed with a lethal fetal anomaly. This is a hard and heart breaking time for people, and the information they receive should support them in making the best decisions for themselves, their health and well-being. It shouldn't shame them or coerce them into making a particular decision. 4. Adds racist and judgmental prohibitions. HEA 1337 would prohibit abortions done on the basis of the race or sex of the fetus. This relies on stereotypes about marginalized communities to ban abortion for reasons that have no supporting evidence here in the US. The bill would also prohibit abortions based on the potential or actual diagnosis of the fetus having a disability, potentially increasing any trauma or grief the pregnant person and their family may be experiencing. 5. Jeopardizes the doctor/patient relationship. HEA 1337 creates the mechanism to punish doctors if they do perform an abortion based on sex or disability of the fetus. This turns doctors into investigators of their patients’ motives, may make them wary of providing care, and makes patients scared to trust their medical provider. 6. Exposes doctors to harm. HEA 1337 would disclose the protected documents regarding abortion providers’ back up physicians and hospital admitting agreements to all hospitals in the area around an abortion clinic. This exposes physicians’ information with no benefit to patient care. In a political and social climate filled with violent rhetoric and domestic terrorism towards abortion providers, this is a dangerous risk to take with doctors’ information. HEA 1337 sets a dangerous precedent for defining what reasons are or are not acceptable for seeking an abortion and lead only to more restrictions on access to safe, legal reproductive health care. The provisions limit access to abortion. They shame and judge women. They do nothing to improve or protect women’s health. These restrictions are another example of a broader agenda to end access to abortion. Since 2011, state lawmakers across the country have passed more than 280 restrictions on safe, legal abortion. More than in the previous decade (189). Indiana makes up 1/3 of these restrictions making us one of the top four most hostile states to abortion in the nation. The time is now: Urge members of the Indiana General Assembly and Governor Mike Pence to stop this bill, and protect the rights and health care of pregnant Hoosiers.

Lands's End should be encouraged to restore Steinem to the website and catalog. People should care because this is the central message of feminism: treat men and women alike. Flawed men are in ads all the time.

The Virginia General Assembly is considering multiple proposals to defund Planned Parenthood and cut Virginians off from quality, affordable health care. HB1090, sponsored by Delegate Ben Cline, passed the House of Delegates on February 16th and is now headed to the State Senate. A separate budget proposal is also pending. These are political attacks on women's health designed to leave Virginians without access to their trusted health care provider. On behalf of Virginia's women and families, we must stop them immediately.

In an April 18, 2015, article The Baltimore Sun reported on a study by the National Women's Law Center showing that overall Maryland women earned $.86 for every dollar earned by a male for comparable work. Another study cited in the story, by the Institute for Women's Policy Research showed Maryland women earned $.87 for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. Nationwide, the Institute reported, that was second only to New York where women earned $.88 to the dollar. These figures for Maryland women are still nothing to brag about when you consider 1.) There is an increasing number of households in which females are either the sole provider or the absolute single head of the household; 2.) The gender gap is wider among African-American and Latina women; 3.) There are questions about the growth of the disparity as a woman advances in a career; and 4.) There is currently no means to protect a woman who is lawfully inquiring about her salary and/or lodging formal complaints with respect to it without fear of retribution by her employer. Fortunately, in the 2016 Legislative Session, there is still another (there have been other unsuccessful efforts in previous sessions) to make Equal Pay for Equal Work the law of the state! In the House of Delegates, the bill is known as HB1003, and in the Senate it is SB0481. Among other provisions, the bills' goals are identical: to prevent discrimination in pay/conversation on the basis of gender/gender identity and to prevent retribution against employees identifying disparities through various state and other channels. They accomplish this by amending and adding provisions to existing laws. The bills also TAKE INTO ACCOUNT that disparities can and will continue to exist when it comes to merit, differences in education, level of experience, distinct difference in the ability to perform specific tasks, etc. In other words, the proposed legislation strikes a FAIR BALANCE demanding ONLY fair compensation for those jobs where men and women on equal levels deserve to be paid equally! As a fellow Maryland voter, I URGE YOU to encourage your delegates and senators to get behind this legislation! Both the House of Delegates and the Senate are scheduled to begin hearings in early March. So time is critical! If you wish to join movements in support of this legislation, I encourage you to do so. And by all means, study the legislation as proposed for yourself, by all means do so! Simply go to the Maryland General Assembly website at http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frm1st.aspx?tab=home and enter the bill's number into the search bar. Once in the bill you will find an icon for the PDF text of the proposed legislation! Thank you for your consideration. Together, we can put Maryland among the leaders in the Equal Pay Movements!