Gender Equity and Women's Health

Protecting a woman’s right to choose and ensuring that women have the necessary access to reproductive healthcare they require is a key concern of mine. As I have said before, my time in Afghanistan, even more than my time in Iraq, showcased how critical society’s treatment of women is; women’s reproductive rights are central to the health of a community. In 2014 I promised to always protect women’s health choices and support gender equity. Below are policies that I supported in the Oregon Legislature to keep that promise.

Promises Kept:

1. HB 2879 permits pharmacists to prescribe oral birth control;
2. HB 3343 allows women to receive 12 months’ worth of birth control at once: a policy that is proven to reduce unwanted pregnancies;
3. SB 491 establishes a training program concerning pay equity;
4. HB 2007 prohibits employers from punishing employees who discuss their wages with colleagues;
5. SB 1600 ends the statute of limitation for rape in Oregon;
6. HB 4082 takes new steps to protect trafficked women; and
7. Protecting privacy: the Oregon Legislature banned “revenge porn”, “up-skirting” and increased the penalty for using hidden cameras in private places.