✦She Creates Love Weekly Briefing — May 4–10, 2026
This week's top stories
1) Mifepristone at the Supreme Court — 5th Circuit blocks mail access; Alito issues temporary stay through May 11
2) MMIWP National Week of Action — May 4–8; wear red on May 5; over 100 missing in Washington State
3) WA Wage Gap Widens to 2nd Worst in Nation — Women earned $18,545 less than men in 2024; Latina women lost $37,796
4) Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Signed — Historic protections for nannies, housekeepers & home care workers, effective July 2027
5) U.S. Democracy Ranking Plunges — V-Dem places U.S. 51st globally, down from 20th, in a single year
6) Dolores Huerta Breaks 60 Years of Silence — Civil rights icon reveals she survived sexual assault by César Chávez
7) Millionaires' Tax Becomes Law — $3B+ annually for childcare, school meals & working family tax credits
8) South Carolina SB 1095 — Extreme abortion ban advancing to Senate floor; vote possible before May 14
✦ ✦ ✦
Lead Story
The most urgent story of the week — and what comes next.
Breaking
Mifepristone Fight Reaches the Supreme Court — Again
On May 1, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the FDA's 2023 policy allowing mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth and mailed to patients nationwide — a ruling triggered by a lawsuit from Louisiana's Attorney General. The impact is massive: medication abortion now accounts for roughly two out of three abortions in the country, and one in four are provided via telehealth.
On May 4, Justice Samuel Alito issued a narrow administrative stay restoring access through at least May 11 while the Supreme Court considers emergency appeals from drug manufacturers. The stay preserves the status quo — it does not signal how the Court will ultimately rule. A Thursday deadline was set for Louisiana officials to respond.
The Guttmacher Institute called this the most sweeping threat to abortion access since Dobbs. Even in states where abortion is fully legal, a nationwide dispensing ban would devastate care — particularly for rural women, low-income women, and survivors in abusive situations who rely on the privacy of mail delivery. If the Court allows the 5th Circuit ruling to stand, it sets a precedent that a single state's attorney general can override FDA scientific judgment for the entire nation.
Watch this space closely. The next ten days will reshape how reproductive health care is delivered in America.
"The most sweeping threat to abortion since the overturning of Roe v. Wade."— Guttmacher Institute
Economic Justice
Numbers that demand our attention — and our action.
Washington Returns to 2nd Widest Wage Gap in the Nation
Washington women earned a median of $18,545 less than men in 2024 — the second-widest gap in the country by total dollars, behind only Utah. Measured as a ratio, women earn 72 cents for every dollar earned by men, ranking 8th worst nationally. After a brief improvement in 2023, the gap is widening again.
Wage gap vs. white men — 2024
Latina Women−$37,796↑ $1,087 from 2023
Native / Alaska Native Women−$33,659↑ $1,334 from 2023
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander−$30,578↑ $500 from 2023
Black Women−$29,237↑ $802 from 2023
White Women−$23,237↑ $387 from 2023
Asian Women−$12,771↓ $1,361 from 2023
The WA State Women's Commission launched the Activate 3.8 campaign — named for the 3.8 million women and girls in Washington — to drive career exploration, policy advocacy, and salary negotiation support. In Northwest Washington (Congressional District 2), women earn just 69 cents on the dollar.
Nationally, women now earn $0.82 for every dollar earned by men according to Payscale's 2026 report — down from $0.83 last year. Over a 40-year career, that gap compounds to more than $1 million in lost earnings. Women's wages stop growing in their late 30s; men's continue into their 40s — the exact window most women are managing peak caregiving responsibilities.
One bright spot: pay transparency laws are working. Nine of 15 states with transparency laws have effectively closed the controlled gender pay gap. Washington is among them. The gap is not inevitable — it is a policy choice.
Victory
Millionaires' Tax Signed Into Law
Gov. Ferguson signed SB 6346 on March 30 — a 9.9% tax on household income over $1 million, affecting fewer than 1% of Washington households. In its first full year, over 41% of revenue flows directly to families: free K-12 school meals, the largest small business tax cut in state history, elimination of sales tax on diapers, and direct payments to nearly 500,000 working families.
455,000 Women Left the Workforce in 2025
A Catalyst report found that 455,000 women voluntarily exited the labor market between January and August 2025. Of those, 42% cited caregiving and 37% cited lack of schedule flexibility. This is not a personal choice — it is the result of a structural failure where employers demand full-time presence, childcare is unaffordable, and caregiving remains unpaid and overwhelmingly female. Catalyst's president warned: "We are creating the conditions for a labor market crisis." The childcare crisis is accelerating the exodus: in 100 of the largest U.S. metros, families with an infant and a toddler pay childcare costs 31.5% higher than rent.
Legislation & Policy
What passed, what's advancing, and what you need to stop.
Victory
Domestic Workers Bill of Rights — Signed
On March 9, Gov. Ferguson signed HB 2355, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights — a historic win for nannies, housekeepers, cooks, and home care workers who have been excluded from labor protections for decades. Effective July 1, 2027, the law establishes: minimum wage and overtime, written agreements in workers' own language, advance termination notice with severance, privacy protections, anti-retaliation and anti-discrimination safeguards, and earned sick leave.
Most domestic workers are women, immigrants, and people of color who face 25% lower wages than other service workers and higher rates of harassment and wage theft.
"This industry was born out of slavery and indentured servitude, and today we say no more."— Rep. Brianna Thomas (D-Seattle), bill sponsor
Urgent
South Carolina SB 1095 — One of the Most Extreme Abortion Bans in the Country
South Carolina's "Unborn Child Protection Act" passed committee 8-4 on April 21 and heads to the Senate floor — with a session end date of May 14. If enacted, it would ban nearly all abortions, eliminate exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal anomalies, criminalize providers (up to 20 years) and patients (up to 2 years), reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV controlled substances, and allow family members to sue anyone who assists with an abortion for $10,000.
The window to act is days. If you have contacts in South Carolina, now is the time.
Victory
Washington 2026 Session — What Passed
The 2026 legislative session (January 12 – March 12) delivered meaningful wins: SSB 5917 improved access to Washington's existing medication abortion stockpile. SB 6081 protects Washingtonians from unauthorized disclosure of sex designation in government records. SB 5852 established immigrant worker protections including employer notification requirements for federal immigration audits. HB 2242 preserves access to preventive health services. The legislature also allocated $21.3 million to maintain crime victim services, meeting the full request from WSCADV/SA after many programs faced closure.
Watch
November Ballot: Two Initiatives to Know
Two Let's Go Washington initiatives are headed to the November 2026 ballot after Democratic leaders declined to bring them to a vote. IL26-638 would prohibit transgender girls from competing on girls' sports teams — over 444,000 signatures collected, and this appears to be the first time voters in any state will decide this question directly. IL26-001 ("Parents' Bill of Rights") seeks to restore provisions from I-2081 that supporters say were weakened in 2025. Make sure your voter registration is current.
Oregon Shields Reproductive & Gender-Affirming Care
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed HB 4088 on March 31, prohibiting Oregon public agencies from cooperating with federal or out-of-state investigations into legally protected reproductive or gender-affirming health care. The law also extends privacy protections and shields midwives providing reproductive care. Wyoming courts separately blocked that state's 6-week ban, holding it violates the state constitution's health care decision rights.
Gender-Based Violence & Survivor Justice
Holding space for survivors. Naming what is happening so we can stop it.
Dolores Huerta Breaks 60 Years of Silence
In one of the most powerful survivor disclosures of the year, Dolores Huerta — co-founder of the United Farm Workers, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, civil rights icon at age 95 — broke her silence in March to reveal she was sexually assaulted by César Chávez in the 1960s. The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence issued a statement standing in solidarity with Huerta and all survivors.
"I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here. I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor."— Dolores Huerta, age 95 (March 18, 2026)
Survivor Funding Secured — For Now
Washington legislators secured $21.3 million to maintain crime victim services after programs across the state were at a "breaking point" due to declining federal support. Rep. Lauren Davis (D-Shoreline) shared at a press conference that she is "alive today" because of victim services she accessed while escaping two abusive relationships. The funding stabilizes programs for now, but advocates continue pushing for a permanent, sustainable mechanism.
Meanwhile, the federal landscape is alarming: ICE courthouse arrests increased 117% in 2025. Immigrant domestic violence survivors are increasingly skipping restraining order hearings and dropping counseling for fear of deportation. VAWA self-petition requirements now demand primary documentation — records abusers often control or destroy. When seeking help could cost a survivor her freedom, the system itself becomes the danger.
Breaking
Seattle Sex Trafficking Ring Indicted — April 29
Two Seattle men — Leanthony Palmer, 34, and Branden Barnett, 38 — were federally indicted for sex trafficking conspiracy involving adults and teens. Palmer faces nine counts including conspiracy to commit money laundering; Barnett faces six counts including attempted sex trafficking of a minor. Victims were controlled through violence, drugs, and withholding food and shelter. The ring operated across Washington, Alaska, Oregon, California, Colorado, and Hawaii.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 89% of Washington sex trafficking victims who reported their age were children when first exploited. Washington's SB 5936, also passed in 2026, establishes criminal liability for business entities that engage in or fail to stop human trafficking.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month — What the Numbers Say
Gov. Ferguson's April proclamation cited that over 53% of women, 29% of men, and 47% of transgender people in Washington experience sexual violence in their lifetime — and fewer than 1 in 3 assaults are reported. In Pierce County, the proclamation honored Rebuilding Hope Sexual Assault Center, serving survivors since 1975. Prevention starts in everyday conversations about consent, respect, and boundaries. Even though April has passed, support is available year-round — see the resources section below.
MMIWP — National Week of Action
May 4–8. Wear red. Display a red dress. Speak the names.
This week
May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People. Share using #MMIWRNationalWeekofAction. Display a red dress or poster in your window, office, or community space.
More than 100 Indigenous people are currently listed as missing in Washington State — including 50 women and girls. Nearly 52% of those cases originate in Eastern Washington. In Spokane County alone, 10 MMIWP cases remain open, including 5 involving children under 18. Native people in Washington are twice as likely to be homicide victims and 2.5 times more likely to have cases remain unresolved.
Nationally, the FBI recorded 10,248 missing Indigenous persons reports in 2024; 5,614 were women, and most women reported missing were under 18. Ninety-five percent of MMIWP cases identified by the Urban Indian Health Institute received no mainstream media coverage. Sixty-five percent of MMIW cases in Washington are concentrated near the I-5 corridor; 96% of sexual assaults on AI/AN women are committed by non-Native men.
The WA Attorney General's MMIWP Task Force released its third annual report in June 2025. A Missing Indigenous Persons Toolkit is available for families at the AG's website. The Kalispel Tribe and Northern Quest Resort & Casino are hosting educational displays, a red dress installation, and an awareness walk throughout May.
"It's a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with."— Kalispel Tribal Elder RJ Nomee
Ebony Alert System — Watching SB 6070
Sen. Manka Dhingra's Ebony Alert legislation (SB 6070) — which would create statewide alerts for missing Black individuals, similar to Amber Alerts — passed the Senate unanimously 49-0 and advanced through the House before being returned to Senate Rules Committee. The bill also includes Purple Alerts for people with disabilities. Advocates like Yasmeen Waheed of the Silent Task Force highlighted how African American women are disproportionately victims of missing persons cases in Washington. This bill must not die in committee.
Maternal Health
A crisis being named — and defunded.
The Budget That Could Kill Mothers
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is defending a proposed budget eliminating Title X (the nation's only federal family planning program), Healthy Start (which targets communities with the highest infant mortality rates), and the CDC's Safe Motherhood portfolio. The U.S. already has the highest maternal death rate of any high-income nation, and more than 85% of those deaths are preventable. The funding is being redirected to unlicensed pregnancy centers that outnumber abortion providers 3 to 1 and rarely provide actual prenatal care.
Black women are 2 to 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes. Only about 65% of Black women and 68% of Hispanic women access early prenatal care, compared to 82% of white women. Medicaid finances over 40% of births nationally — rising to 64% among Black mothers. Congress eliminated more than $1 trillion in Medicaid funding in July 2025.
One bipartisan bright spot: the Shaheen-Murkowski Maternal Health & Violence Research Act, introduced April 27, would fund research on the link between intimate partner violence and maternal mortality — the first time this bill has had a Republican Senate co-sponsor. Contact your senator in support.
Childcare & Education
New Mexico proved it's possible. Why isn't every state doing it?
Victory
New Mexico Makes History — Free Childcare for Every Child Under 5
New Mexico became the first and only U.S. state to provide free childcare for every child under age 5, regardless of family income — launched in fall 2025 and already being studied as a national model. San Francisco became the first U.S. city to do the same. When childcare consumes up to one-third of household income, "choice" is not the word for what forces mothers out of the workforce. States and employers who invest in childcare prove it again and again: women stay employed, children thrive, economies grow.
Washington's Childcare Wins — and Gaps
Washington passed HB 1128, establishing the Child Care Workforce Standards Board to set minimum employment standards for the backbone of the state's childcare workforce — predominantly immigrant women. Advocates continue pushing to protect Working Connections Child Care subsidies (40,000 families rely on these by July 2026) and close the $200 million gap in the Early Learning Facilities Fund, which has 325 applications but funding for far fewer.
Systemic Watch
Documenting the conditions that shape all of women's lives.
U.S. Democracy Ranking Drops from 20th to 51st in One Year
The V-Dem Institute's 2026 Democracy Report found the U.S. Liberal Democracy Index declined 24% in a single year — a rate the Institute called unprecedented among democratic nations. The U.S. dropped from 20th to 51st out of 179 countries globally. An AP investigation found that federal judges ruled the Trump administration violated court orders in at least 31 lawsuits in the first 15 months — approximately 1 in 8 cases where courts blocked administration actions. One judge accused the administration of seeking to "erode any semblance of separation of powers." Carnegie research shows only 4 of 25 countries that experienced democratic backsliding since 1990 have recovered.
Media Consolidation & Book Bans Accelerating
The FCC approved the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger, bypassing a public commissioner vote — creating an entity reaching roughly 80% of U.S. TV households. Nexstar has already censored programming critical of the administration. Thirteen state AGs are fighting the merger in court. Separately, the ALA documented 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025 — the second-highest level on record — with 92% of challenges driven by organized political groups, up from 72% in 2024. Less than 3% came from individual parents.
Take Action This Week
Seven things you can do right now.
01 - Wear red on May 5 — and share using #MMIWRNationalWeekofAction. Download the NIWRC poster. Display a red dress.
02 - Follow the mifepristone case. Contact your senators. Know your access options via Plan C or the National Abortion Federation Hotline: 1-800-772-9100.
03 - If you know anyone in SC — contact their state senator before May 14 about SB 1095. Floor vote could come any day.
04 - Call your U.S. senators to support the Shaheen-Murkowski Maternal Health & Violence Research Act.
05 - Register to vote and research IL26-638 and IL26-001 before November. These ballot measures will shape Washington for a generation.
06 - Support immigrant DV survivors. Donate to the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors, Tahirih Justice Center, or your local shelter.
07 - Ask your state legislators: "Why isn't Washington doing what New Mexico did on universal childcare?"
Upcoming Dates
May 4–8 National Week of Action for MMIWR
May 5 National Day of Awareness — wear red
May 7 WSCADV/SA Legal Advocacy Gathering — Lacey
May 11 Supreme Court mifepristone stay deadline
May 13 OCVA Human Trafficking Grant deadline
May 13–15 WSCADV/SA Directors Gathering — Yakima
May 14 SC legislative session ends — SB 1095 deadline
May 21 Immigration Update — NW Immigrant Rights Project (virtual)
June 4 Girls Inc. PNW Girls Night Out — Castaway Portland
Save These. Share These.
National DV Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (24/7)
RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673 (24/7)
StrongHearts Native Helpline 1-844-762-8483 (24/7)
National Abortion Federation 1-800-772-9100
National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888
Teen Dating Violence Hotline 1-866-331-9474 (24/7)
WA MMIWP Toolkitatg.wa.gov
"Even in weeks that feel like the ground is shifting beneath us — women have always been the ones who steady the earth. We don't just consume the news. We create the change."
✦ She Creates Love · Love Is Why We Fight ✦
© 2026 She Creates Love · SheCreatesLove.com
Because informed women are unstoppable.
