Feminist Newswire, Author at Feminist Majority Foundation

Hundreds March for Marissa Alexander in Jacksonville

Posted on July 29, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Hundreds of supporters from all over the United States marched to the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, FL yesterday to demand that all charges against Marissa Alexander be dropped. Chants heard on the way to the Courthouse also underscored growing demand for State Attorney Angela Corey’s dismissal.

Free Marissa Now and Sister Song, Inc. are leading a week-long mobilization on Alexander’s behalf. The Standing Our Ground Week of Action kicked off Friday, July 25 and will continue through August 1. Satellite participants in the week of action have shown their support for Alexander using the #StandingOurGround and #SelfiesForSelfDefense hashtags.

Alexander, an African American mother of three, fired a warning shot after being strangled and threatened to death by her estranged husband in August 2010. A restraining order was in place at the time of the incident. Alexander’s husband, Rico Gray, has a well-documented history of domestic violence against Marissa and other former partners. Alexander was once hospitalized because of injuries sustained in an incident with Gray. Nevertheless, Florida’s mandatory minimum sentence for “pulling the trigger during a crime” is 20 years. Alexander could face up to 60 years in prison for allegedly endangering Gray’s life and the lives of her two stepsons.

“Today, it’s Marissa. Tomorrow, it’s you. And yesterday, it was Trayvon,” said poet Staceyann Chin with Free Marissa Now.

“We see this as a human rights violation against [Marissa’s] right to parent, against her bodily autonomy,” Monica Simpson, Executive Director of Sister Song, told WTEV-TV.

Last week, a judge denied attorneys’ requests to grant Alexander a new hearing under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. In June, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law that includes warning shots under “Stand Your Ground,” but it will not retroactively apply to Marissa Alexander’s case. Free Marissa Now and Sister Song intend this week’s action to coincide with Alexander’s retrial, which was previously scheduled for this month. A Florida appeals court ordered a new trial for Alexander after finding the lower court had issued improper jury instructions on self-defense.

Alexander is now set to be retried in December.

Media Resources: Free Marissa Now; Twitter; Scribd; Feminist Newswire 3/4/14, 9/26/13; WTEV-TV (Jacksonville) 7/28/14; WJXT-Jacksonville 7/28/14; MSNBC 7/21/14

Extensive Female Genital Mutilation Study To Be Conducted in the US

Posted on July 29, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

The Obama administration plans to conduct a large study on female genital mutilation to try to assess how many girls and women in the US are at risk or have experienced the practice.

Sometimes referred to as female genital cutting or female circumcision, FGM is the removal or cutting of part or all of a woman or girl’s genitals. The practice, which is medically unnecessary, can lead to serious health issues such as infection, illness and death. FGM still affects up to 140 million women and girls worldwide. According to experts, FGM tends to take place during summer break when parents take their daughter outside of the country for the practice.

Jaha Dukureh, a 24-year-old woman who grew up in Gambia, experienced FGM there, and then child marriage in the US, started a petition that gained more than 220,000 supporters. Dukureh, whose campaign was backed by The Guardian, says her half-sister died from complications of FGM. The successful campaign called on the Obama administration to conduct a report on the statistics of FGM in the United States.

Catherine Russell, US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, attending the Girl Summit in London last week, indicated that the study would be conducted by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The Summit, hosted by the United Kingdom and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and attended by more than 600 people, aimed at mobilizing global efforts to end FGM and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) within a generation.

In her petition, Dukureh says:

Many in the US hear about FGM and think it only happens in far away lands. Unfortunately, this is far from reality. I hear from girls every day that were born here in the United States who have been through FGM. These young women are your average American teenagers — some of them you know, some of them you went or go to school with. And there are many more girls in the US that are at risk of being cut. The practice of FGM is illegal in the US but girls are being taken to other countries, usually their parents’ country of origin where they are cut in what is now known as ‘vacation cutting.’

The Obama administration has set up a preliminary working group for FGM prevention and action. Its first step is to examine the extent of FGM in the US and explore ways to eliminate the practice. The practice of FGM on girls under 18 has been a crime in the US since 1996. Last year, President Obama strengthened the law by making it a crime to transport a girl outside of the US for the purpose of FGM.

Media Resources: Change.org; The Guardian 7/22/14; Girl Summit 14; Equality Now; Feminist Majority Foundation

Video via Change.org and The Guardian.

Wisconsin Will Not Enforce Contraceptive Coverage Law If Employers Raise Religious Objections

Posted on July 28, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Citing the recent US Supreme Court ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) announced that it will no longer be enforcing the contraceptive benefit rule for employers with religious objections.

via Shutterstock

Current state law in Wisconsin requires companies with insurance plans to cover services including outpatient care, preventive treatment, prescription drugs, and FDA-approved contraceptives prescribed by a healthcare provider. According to OCI, however, the state will now allow employers with religious objections to birth control to opt out of providing coverage. Instead, insurers will have to provide separate contraceptive coverage to those employees who seek the coverage.

An OCI spokesman claimed that the change was required after the Hobby Lobby decision, but legal experts from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) issued a legal memo last week explaining that “Wisconsin state law is a separate legal requirement on insurance plans in the state that is not directly affected by the Hobby Lobby decision.”

“It appears that the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance is making up a new standard that does not comply with either state law or federal law,” said Gretchen Borchelt, Senior Counsel and Director of State Reproductive Health Policy at NWLC.

Borchelt also warned that the change in contraceptive coverage could limit accessibility of birth control for some women in Wisconsin. “Putting the burden on the employees by forcing them to seek out and ask for a plan that covers contraception stigmatizes a critical health care service, … raises concerns about privacy, and could be an insurmountable barrier for some women.”

Wisconsin State Representative Chris Taylor (D-Madison) called the OCI announcement another attempt by Republican Governor Scott Walker to inhibit access to birth control. In an interview with Wisconsin Radio Network, Rep. Taylor said that Governor Walker, “had no authority to unilaterally decide that this administration is not going to enforce a law passed democratically through the Legislature.”

In 2011, Governor Walker included a provision in the biennial budget bill that would have repealed the state’s Contraceptive Equity Law, which mandates contraceptive coverage in certain insurance plans. That provision failed along with a legislative attempt in 2013 to create a religious exemption.

Media Resources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinal 7/25/14; RH Reality Check, 7/25/14; Wisconsin Radio Network, 7/24/14; National Women’s Law Center 7/22/14; Feminist Newswire 7/1/14; NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin; Wisconsin Legislative Documents

Study Proves Texas Laws Have Significantly Reduced Access to Abortion

Posted on July 28, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

The Texas Policy Evaluation Project (TxPEP) released a study in the medical journal Contraception finding that access to abortion has been significantly reduced since the state enacted it omnibus anti-abortion law HB2.

via Shutterstock

The study, released last week, details the striking impact that HB2 has had on abortion access in Texas. The researchers collected data on abortion services for the first six months after one of HB2’s four provisions, which requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic, went into effect in November 2013. They found that the abortion rate decreased at an unusually rapid rate of 13 percent, likely because of the large number of clinic’s that closed or stopped providing abortion care. In May 2013, there were 41 facilities providing abortion throughout the state, but 20 of those clinics have now either closed to stopped providing abortion services.

When another provision requiring facilities to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers goes into effect this September, the researchers predict that the six or seven facilities that already meet the standards are the only ones that will be able to remain open. But less than one-fourth of abortion procedures took place at an ambulatory surgical center during the research period, so they do not expect those clinics to be able to handle a four-fold increase in abortion procedures.

“There is no evidence that any of the provisions [of HB2] has improved the safety of abortion in the state,” said Daniel Grossman, the lead researcher and an obstetrician-gynecologist and Vice President for Research at Ibis Reproductive Health, in a statement. “They have just made it harder for women to access the services they want and need.”

Smaller cities and rural areas have been hit the hardest. All of the clinics in the Lower Rio Grande Valley have closed, restricting access to reproductive health care so much that some consider it a human rights violation. The number of women of reproductive age living over 200 miles from a clinic providing abortions has increased from 10,000 in May 2013 to 290,000 in April 2014. That number is expected to increase to 752,000 when the ambulatory surgical center provision goes into effect. Such great distances can force women to delay care, because they cannot afford the higher costs of travel and lodging or the time they have to take off work, and because they may not have access to reliable transportation. Many women have already been forced to resort to illegal abortion methods, such as obtaining abortion-inducing drugs on the black market.

HB2 was passed by the Texas legislature in a special session in July 2013, after earlier being defeated by a filibuster. Its two other provisions ban abortion at or after 20 weeks post-fertilization, and require providers to use the Food and Drug Administration’s outdated protocol for medical abortions.

Media Resources: The Texas Policy Evaluation Project 7/1/14, 7/23/14; Contraception Journal; ThinkProgress 7/23/14; Feminist Newswire 6/26/13, 7/1/13, 11/27/13, 3/6/14, 4/18/14

Women’s Equality Party Launched in New York

Posted on July 25, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

In November, voters in New York may elect the first Women’s Equality Party ticket. Former New York State Representative Kathy Hochul, NARAL Pro-Choice New York, and the National Organization for Women-NYC announced last week they were launching efforts to create a Women’s Equality Party ballot line in the state.

“The women’s equality party will send a loud message that women are paying close attention this election cycle,” said NOW-NYC President Sonia Ossorio. “Elected officials should understand that women’s economic empowerment can be a driver for our economy. Our health and safety matter. What happens to women, happens to families.”

The new party – which will have current Governor Andrew Cuomo on its ticket, along with Hochul as candidate for Lieutenant Governor – plans to support initiatives that are important to women, including the 10-point women’s legislative agenda that the New York State Legislature failed to approve before the close of the 2013-2014 session. That legislative package included stronger laws against gender-based workplace discrimination, tougher laws on human trafficking, resources for victims of domestic violence, and an abortion provision that would match the language of Roe v. Wade.

Planned Parenthood Advocates of New York welcomed efforts to create a Women’s Equality Party. “We will never see our needs addressed without representation that understands and reflects the reality and totality of women’s lives,” the organization said in a statement. “The Women’s Equality Party is a visible reminder that New York State’s women can’t be discounted or dismissed.”

Supporters of the Women’s Equality Party must secure 15,000 signatures by August 15 before the party can appear on the ballot. The Cuomo-Hochul ticket will already appear on the Democratic, Working Families, and Independence party ballot lines. New York election laws permit major party candidates to appear under a third-party’s ballot line if organizers of that party endorse the candidate.

Media Resources: New York Times 7/17/14; NOW-NYC 7/14; Planned Parenthood Advocates of New York 7/17/14; Feminist Newswire 6/27/14

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Passes Disabilities Treaty

Posted on July 25, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

By a vote of 12 to 6, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed to recommend ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to the full US Senate.

via Shutterstock

“One hundred forty six nations and the European Union have ratified the Disabilities Treaty, but it will require American leadership to ensure the treaty’s protections become a reality,” said Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. “The treaty embodies the highest of American standards. From the U.S. Constitution, it borrows principles of equality and the protection of minorities. From the Declaration of Independence, it reflects the unalienable right to pursue happiness. From the Americans with Disabilities Act and other landmark accessibility laws, the treaty enshrines the concept of reasonable accommodation.”

The treaty, among other things, reaffirms the need for fundamental human rights for all people with disabilities, and highlights the need to recognize and respond to discrimination against those with disabilities.

Every Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee voted in favor of the treaty, as well as two Republicans: Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and John Barrasso (R-WY). Voting against the Disabilities Treaty were Senators Bob Corker (R-TN), James Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Rand Paul (R-KY).

Two-thirds of the Senate, 67 Senators, must now vote in favor of the treaty before it can be ratified by the United States. The Senate previously, in 2012, failed to vote to ratify the Disabilities Treaty, by a vote of 61-38 against. All 38 opposing votes were cast by Republicans; seven voted in favor. More than 120 countries have already ratified the UN treaty.

Supporters of the Disabilities Treaty will gather on Tuesday, July 29, at 12:15pm on 3rd Street, NW between Pennsylvania Ave, NW and Maryland Ave, SW in Washington, DC for a march and rally for ratification.

Media Resources: US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 7/22/14; Feminist Newswire 12/4/12; United Nations

Feminist Leaders and Activists Rally for the Equal Rights Amendment

Posted on July 24, 2014July 24, 2014 by Feminist Newswire

This morning, Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) led a solid crowd of Equal Rights Amendment activists and supporters just beyond the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

FMF interns pose like Rosie the Riveter to show their support for the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Congressional leaders cited the Supreme Court’s rulings in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and McCullen v. Coakley as key reasons for calling the rally. “Recent Supreme Court decisions have sent women’s rights back to the Stone Age,” Rep. Speier said in a release issued on Tuesday. “Justice Scalia reminds us that the Constitution does not prohibit discrimination based on sex and that corporations have more rights than women do,” she continued.

Leaders of national gender equality groups addressed the crowd, including Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal; Terry O’Neill, President of the National Organization for Women; Dr. E. Faye Williams, Chair of the National Congress of Black Women; Desiree Hoffman, Advocacy Director for the YWCA; and Jessica Neuwirth, Director of the ERA Coalition.

The representatives shared stories of constituents whose experiences reflect the need for a constitutional amendment that explicitly protects against sex-based discrimination, particularly in light of court decisions that leave victims of sexual violence with limited legal recourse.

Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, (front center) addresses the crowd at the United Call to Action to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment. (Also pictured: Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), front left; Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), front-right)

Leah Meredith, a former GEICO employee, told the crowd about her own fight to resume consideration for a promotion after she learned she was pregnant. “I kept up my work really hard, despite a physically trying pregnancy,” Meredith said. “I was very sick, and in the last trimester, I could hardly walk.” Despite her commitment to maintaining her work, she heard nothing further about a promised promotion until she was going on maternity leave. “I got called in for my meeting, but instead of hearing about my promotion, I was advised I wouldn’t be getting it.”

As it stands, the U.S. Constitution makes no explicit reference to “women” or the rights of individuals on the basis of sex. The Equal Rights Amendment has been introduced in every Congress between 1923 until it passed in 1972. Thirty-eight states are required to ratify the ERA before it can become a constitutional amendment. Thirty-five states ratified the Equal Rights Amendment by the June 1982 deadline imposed by Congress. Congresswoman Speier has introduced a resolution in the House that would abolish that deadline, and require only three additional states to ratify the amendment before it could become part of the US Constitution. Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) have introduced identical legislation in the US Senate. Earlier this year, the Virginia State Senate and the Illinois State Senate passed measures to ratify the ERA.

Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal said she’s encouraged by the momentum around the ERA. “In the 2014 Virginia state legislative session, the Senate approved the ERA. In late May of 2014, the Illinois Senate approved the ERA by a 60 percent majority. The Equal Rights Amendment will come up in the veto session of the Illinois House in November, and Illinois could become the 36^th state to ratify the ERA,” she said. “Moreover, the Equal Rights Amendment will be on the state ballot of Oregon in November 2014. The Oregon measure will amend the state Constitution to include an Equal Rights Amendment with wording similar to the federal ERA that was approved by Congress in 1972,” Smeal continued.

Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation; Office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier 7/22/14, 3/27/14; Feminist Majority 7/23/14

“From Passion to Progress” Briefing Brings Together Feminist Leaders and Hundreds of Young Activists

Posted on July 24, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) staff, two congresswomen, and over a hundred DC interns came together yesterday for FMF’s Intern Student/Activist briefing in Dirksen Senate building to discuss how to put a women’s rights agenda into action.

Interns Ishmael Bishop, Talia Cowen, and Nora Brodnitz helped participents sign in

Over plates of donuts and cups coffee, participants listened to a succession of engaging and passionate speeches from congressional and feminist leaders: Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA), Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and FMF President Eleanor Smeal. Each of the speakers focused on the need for an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the US Constitution, stressing how an ERA remains relevant and important in the light of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby – that prioritized corporations over women’s health and rights – as well as the continuing scourge of violence against women and the severity of the gender wage gap.

The all-star feminist lineup also addressed the crowd with their own experiences in the feminist movement and passions that keep them fighting for gender equality. “I was you once,” said Rep. Speier, as she encouraged the audience to take this briefing as an opportunity to become involved, and become activists for equality. Eleanor Smeal reiterated this point, discussing how the current generation is the one that will have to continue their legacy, and although “we fight to get something passed, and then we spend the next decade or so to try and keep it on the books,” equality is always goal worth fighting for, no matter how many generations it takes. Congresswoman Maloney, too, said that the students and interns sitting in the room are the next generation of feminists and activists.

Practically unprecedented in hill briefings, FMF’s own interns were the primary facilitators of the event, as they spearheaded an informative and empowering panel on several modern issues facing women. Campus leadership and government relations intern Yemisi Miller-Tonnet echoed the congresswomen and Smeal in calling for action on the ERA, saying “It’s up to us now to pass the ERA.”

Jennifer Lee, FMF government relations and education equity intern, followed Yemisi, discussing campus sexual assault. Campus sexual assault is a hot button issue for many college students across America, and Lee reiterated how important campus activism around this issue is, saying “The time is now, and everyone here has the right to demand more from their college or university.”

Intern Paige McKinsey, who is on the education equity, government relations, and global health and rights teams at FMF, gave a passionate speech about international family planning. Mckinsey gave many devastating statistics, several from her own summer research, saying that fully funding international family planning would only cost 1% of our current defense budget. “I think we can spare the change,” she added, pushing for increased investments in the well-being of women around the world.

The final panelist, government relations and global health and rights intern Kathleen Wilson, discussed CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which has yet to be ratified by the United States. She reiterated how “it’s important not just to our women, but to women all over the globe.”

The FMF interns on the panel eloquently and succinctly addressed the topics they had been researching all summer, in the hopes that the crowd would be inspired by one (or all) the topics enough to adopt it as something they could be advocates for, and bring back into discussions with their representatives, on their campuses, and in their offices. Judging by the crowd response and the questions following the panel, the briefing had inspired more than a few people; questions were asked on how to engage others in the feminist discussion, and participants asked panelists for advice on how to do so, as well as ways to start feminist groups in their communities.

Take Action! Get more involved through the FMF’s Choices Feminist Campus Leadership Project or by signing up for FMF action alerts. You can also support the continued work of the FMF by donating today.

University of Connecticut to Pay Over $1.2 Million in Sexual Assault Settlement

Posted on July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 by Feminist Newswire

The University of Connecticut (UConn) will pay $1.28 million in settlement fees for a sexual assault lawsuit brought against the university by five sexual assault survivors.

via Shutterstock

The federal lawsuit was brought by five women after four of the women had filed complaints with the Department of Education (ED) alleging that UConn had mishandled rape cases and failed to take action on reports of harassment, in violation of Title IX. As part of the settlement, the women have agreed to request suspension of their ED complaints and not to make any disparaging statements against the university. UConn has not admitted any wrongdoing, and is not obligated to make any institutional policy changes as part of the settlement. The university has, however, created a new Special Victims Unit within the campus police department as well as an assistant dean of students for victim support services since the litigation was filed.

Despite the settlement, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will continue its UConn investigation, as three other current or former students – who were not plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit – had signed onto the original ED complaint. OCR is currently investigating 66 other colleges and universities to review their handling of sexual assault cases.

This case doesn’t even come close to being the first campus sexual assault case that has gotten media attention. Earlier this year, Michigan State University, Dartmouth, UC Berkeley and Penn State all went under investigation after student sexual-assault survivors filed charges.

In response to growing concerns about the handling of sexual assault on campuses, the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault was formed. Its first report was filed in April of this year. The report states that one in five women is sexually assaulted during their time in college, and calls for steps to be taken to prevent sexual assault: conducting surveys to assess the problem, engaging men in the fight against sexual violence, responding effectively when a student says they were assaulted, and making enforcement efforts more transparent.

Media Resources: Hartford Courant 7/18/14; The Huffington Post 7/18/14; Associated Press 7/3/2014; Feminist Newswire 4/18/14, 3/6/14, 3/4/14, 1/29/14, 12/11/13; WhiteHouse.gov 4/14

Campaign Against Colorado Personhood Initiative Launches

Posted on July 23, 2014July 24, 2014 by Feminist Newswire

Women’s rights organizations, medical groups, and religious leaders joined several activists yesterday at a rally on the steps of the Colorado state capitol to launch a campaign against a new personhood initiative on the state’s November ballot.

via Xiao Zhuli

The No on 67 campaign opposes Amendment 67, otherwise known as the Brady Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the definition of “person” and “child” in the Colorado Criminal Code and Wrongful Death act to include “unborn human beings.” A similar initiative was on the ballot in 2008 and 2010, but it was defeated both times by a wide margin.

If passed, the amendment would have extreme repercussions, banning abortion in all cases, emergency contraception and birth control, and possibly in-vitro fertilization. Under a similar measure, a woman in Wisconsin was arrested after she sought early prenatal care and told health care workers about her prior use of painkillers and her attempts to stop use on her own.

“Amendment 67 is bad medicine for women and for Colorado,” said Dr. Ruben Alvero, a speaker at the rally. “It would allow the government and the courts to violate the sanctity of doctor/patient privacy, and allow government access to women’s private medical records.”

The amendment is yet another thinly veiled attempt at “personhood” led by Personhood USA. Supporters claim that the measure will help pregnant women get justice if crimes committed against them cause them to miscarry. However, Colorado already has a law, the Crimes Against Pregnant Women Act, that addresses that very issue. Instead, women’s rights advocates worry the language in Amendment 67 could harm pregnant woman by opening up to criminal investigation of any woman who has an abortion or miscarries.

A similar measure will be on the ballot in North Dakota this November, as well as a measure in Tennessee to amend that state’s constitution to declare that there is no right to an abortion in the state.

Media Resources: Denver Post 7/22/14; RH Reality Check 7/23/14; Feminist Newswire 3/22/13, 10/4/13, 10/16/13; Tennessee Secretary of State

100 Days Later, Groups Rally for Nigeria to Bring Back Kidnapped Schoolgirls

Posted on July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 by Feminist Newswire

100 days ago today, more than 270 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Nigeria by Boko Haram. This week, groups around the world are holding vigils to show that they have not stopped supporting rescue efforts and still want safety for these girls.

People from all over the world are joining together to voice their support for the kidnapped girls and to demand that child labor, child marriage, child trafficking, female genital mutilation (FGM), and other forms of abuse are abolished globally.

A list of vigils and Thursday’s moment of silence can be found at the Bring Back Our Girls Facebook page. The moment of silence is to show support for the rescue mission for the kidnapped girls.

“You can [observe the moment of silence] at work, at home or wherever it is suitable for you at a time of your comfort,” Bring Back Our Girls says on their event page. “You can do it yourself or with friends and family. Let’s again show the world and the girls that we care.”

At least 2 of the kidnapped girls have allegedly died, and several may be ill, the AP reports. The girls are still believed to be in the Sambisa Forest on the northeastern border of Nigeria. USAID has provided funding for counseling for the families of the abducted girls and for the girls who have managed to escape.

Eleven parents of the abducted girls have died since the kidnapping. Seven of them were killed by insurgents in attacks on a separate village. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who recently met with Chibok families, has made it clear he does not want to attack Boko Haram as a part of a rescue operation because it could be too dangerous for the kidnapped girls, and he also does not want to open up negotiations with the terrorist group.

Media Resources: Bring Back Our Girls 7/23/14; LA Times 7/22/14; Associated Press 7/22/14

Executive Order Banning LGBT Discrimination in the Workplace Makes No Religious Exemptions

Posted on July 22, 2014July 22, 2014 by Feminist Newswire

The President yesterday signed a long-awaited executive order barring workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.

“For more than two centuries, we have strived, often at great cost, to form ‘a more perfect union’ – to make sure that ‘we, the people’ applies to all the people,” President Obama remarked before signing the order. “Many of us are only here because others fought to secure rights and opportunities for us. And we’ve got a responsibility to do the same for future generations. We’ve got an obligation to make sure that the country we love remains a place where no matter who you are, or what you look like, or where you come from, or how you started out, or what your last name is, or who you love – no matter what, you can make it in this country.”

The President’s order does not itself provide a religious exemption for federal contractors, an issue that became even more critical following the US Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. In that case, the Court cited an accommodation to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage benefit – made to religiously affiliated non-profits – in deciding that closely held for-profit corporations should not be required to cover contraceptives if the owners had religious objections. The federal government, however, already allows religiously affiliated federal contractors to favor hiring employees of their religion.

The executive order will apply to roughly 28 million workers – one-fifth of the U.S. workforce, according to Politico – but it does not reach all employers nationwide. The executive order applies only to the federal government and employees of federal contractors. The federal government is already prohibited from discriminating based on sexual orientation, but the order will extend those protections to transgender workers and will go into effect immediately. With respect to federal contractors, the Department of Labor will have 90 days to prepare regulations.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would end employment-based discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity for workers outside of the federal government and for non-federal contract employees. ENDA passed in the Senate in November but remains stalled in the House. Following the Hobby Lobby decision, however, many leading LGBT-rights groups withdrew their support for ENDA as the legislation includes broad religious exemptions that many groups fear would unravel other workplace gains.

Media Resources: The White House 7/21/14; Huffington Post 7/21/14; Politico 7/21/14; Feminist Newswire 7/9/14, 6/17/14; GPO 12/16/02

Louisiana’s Pro-Choice Community Stands Up Against Operation Rescue

Posted on July 22, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Saturday, Operation Rescue/Operation Save America launched an aggressive week-long siege against reproductive health clinics and abortion care providers in southern Louisiana. The Feminist Majority Foundation, in collaboration with the New Orleans Abortion Fund and the National Abortion Federation, has been on-site coordinating volunteers.

Edwith Theogene, Feminist Majority Foundation National Clinic Access Project Organizer (left), pictured with pro-choice volunteers this past weekend.

The annual siege is expected to run through Saturday, July 26, but already, several dozen Operation Rescue protesters have moved these forceful assemblies to doctors’ private residences, riling neighbors in the process with their megaphones, explicit and invasive signage. A new Planned Parenthood facility in New Orleans, which is still under construction, has been targeted by the demonstrators. The local Catholic bishop has organized boycotts of contractors working on the unfinished facility.

“It’s an encroachment on my right as a neighbor. I’ve spoken to the police here. I feel like they have more of a right than I do as someone who lives here to spout all of this hatred whereas I’m supposed to just roll over and take it,” one neighbor told WDSU-TV following raucous demonstrations at a doctor’s home just outside of New Orleans. The protesters returned to the doctor’s home on Sunday, distributing flyers with doctors’ photographs and other identifying information. Neighbors, however, were outraged by these tactics and a group of about 20 came out, some with signs, to support the doctor.

“Hundreds of residents, students, and pro-choice volunteers from local community organizations have turned out in Louisiana to support doctors, clinics, and patients,” said duVergne Gaines, Director of the Feminist Majority Foundation National Clinic Access Project (NCAP). “The Feminist Majority Foundation has been on the ground training volunteers and thanks to our joint efforts, the clinics have stayed open and all patients are being seen.”

Training sessions led by the FMF National Clinic Access Project (NCAP) have drawn scores of students, clinic escorts, and legal observers who are countering the week of extreme anti-abortion protests.

Media Resources: WDSU-TV 7/18/14

Take Action! Help keep clinics open by supporting our National Clinic Access Project.

Detroit Maternal Death Rate Is Triple the US Average

Posted on July 21, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Women in Detroit are dying from pregnancy-related complications at about three times the US average, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

via Shutterstock

Twenty-six women died in Detroit over the period 2008-2011 as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, and Detroit has the highest rate of infant mortality among major US cities, with 13.5 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.

According to Dr. Priya Agrawal, executive director of Merck for Mothers (an initiative launched to reduce maternal mortality), popular opinion in the US suggests maternal and infant death happens only in developing countries, but data proves otherwise, with US national rates increasing, even as maternal mortality rates worldwide decline.

“[Americans] don’t think women are dying [from pregnancy] in the US, let alone that the rate is going up,” Dr. Agrawal said.

The US is one of just eight countries where the number of maternal deaths increased between 2003 and 2013, according to a recent study published in The Lancet. That study found that in 2013, for every 100,000 births in the US, about 18.5 women died, even though it is more expensive to give birth in the US than anywhere else in the world.

Experts attribute the high maternal death rate in Detroit to a mix of chronic health conditions, which African-Americans suffer more often. African-Americans are up to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women, and almost 83 percent of Detroit’s population is black or African-American, according to US Census data.

Poverty also plays a critical role in the city’s high maternal and infant death rates. Detroit is the poorest major city in the country, with about 40 percent of the population living under the poverty line. Poorer individuals in the US often struggle to get the access to health care they need. And black women in the US are currently twice as likely not to receive prenatal care than white women.

Detroit also has a shortage of primary care physicians, some of whom do not accept Medicaid. Still, the recent expansion of Medicaid in the state – made possible through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – will help provide necessary preventive health services that will help ensure that women can manage health conditions before and after pregnancy.

Media Resources: The Detroit News 7/10/2014, 1/30/2014; Child Trends 11/2014; US Census Bureau; Feminist Newswire 5/9/14; Think Progress 5/6/14

New Clarification Requires Corporations Refusing Contraceptive Coverage To Inform Their Employees

Posted on July 21, 2014July 22, 2014 by Feminist Newswire

The White House clarified on Thursday that closely held for-profit corporations refusing to provide contraceptive coverage will be required to inform their employees.

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The clarification is a response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hobby Lobby v. Burwell. The decision allows closely held, for-profit corporations to refuse to provide health insurance coverage for contraception – a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – if the corporation’s owners claim that providing coverage would violate a sincerely held religious belief. The clarification is not a new regulation, as current law already requires that employers inform employees about changes in their health benefits.

“We are making clear that if a corporation like Hobby Lobby drops coverage of contraceptive services from its health plan, it must do so in the light of day by letting its workers and their families know,” said a senior Obama administration official.

Just last week, a minority of Senators blocked the Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act, a bill that would have reversed the Hobby Lobby decision and required all for-profit companies to provide contraceptive coverage as required by the ACA regardless of owners’ religious objections. The bill failed to gain the 60 votes needed to move to a floor vote, although it received the support of 56 Senators – including every Democrat and Republicans Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Media Resources: Huffington Post 7/21/14; US Department of Labor 7/17/14; Feminist Newswire 7/1/14, 7/17/14; US Senate 7/16/14

Law Limiting Abortion Access Under Medicaid in Alaska Temporarily Blocked

Posted on July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 by Feminist Newswire

An Alaska state court judge this week temporarily blocked a law that created a narrow definition for when abortions were “medically necessary” and therefore covered under Alaska Medicaid.

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The law, SB 49, gives doctors a strict list of 21 reasons someone on Medicaid would qualify for a “medically necessary abortion,” pulling language from a 2001 decision by the state’s Supreme Court which declared that Alaska was required to cover abortion care for women in the Medicaid program when their physicians found them “medically necessary.” The law has been criticized for discriminating against low-income women by preventing them from accessing proper abortion care with Medicaid funds.

“The politicians who passed this law were playing a dangerous game of keep away with women’s health by trying to withhold Medicaid coverage from qualified women,” said Brigitte Amiri, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “A woman shouldn’t have to choose between paying her heating bill and protecting her health. But that will be the reality if this law stands, with the end result that a woman in the state of Alaska will have worse health care simply because she’s poor.”

This case marks the second time Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest has challenged the law as unconstitutional. They are represented in the current case by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the ACLU, the ACLU of Alaska, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Susan Orlansky of Anchorage. Both times, their lawsuits have caused a temporary block on the law as the challenge continued through legal proceedings.

“This decision ensures that Alaskan women facing difficult economic circumstances will not have crucial insurance coverage taken away if they need to end a pregnancy,” Janet Crepps, senior counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “The Alaska state constitution protects women against discrimination in the provision of insurance coverage for the full range of reproductive health care, and we will continue to defend this right against those who seek to take it away.”

Media Resources: RH Reality Check 7/16/14; The Alaska State Legislature; Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest 2/7/14

Research Analysis Finds Covering Contraception is Good for Business

Posted on July 18, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

In a new round-up of private sector and public sector research, Guttmacher Institute dispels the myths surrounding the cost to businesses of insurance coverage for contraception. “Providing comprehensive coverage of contraceptive methods and services is not only sound public health policy,” Guttmacher states, “but also a savvy business decision.”

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Guttmacher counters claims that covering contraception costs corporations. The evidence strongly suggests that the cost of covering all methods of contraception is outweighed by the savings accrued from preventing unplanned pregnancies. The one-year cost of contraceptives ranges from $100 to $600, while the cost of prenatal care, delivery, and newborn care can cost $20,000 or more. Previous research by Guttmacher also found that public funding for contraceptive services in 2010 led to public savings of $10.5 billion.

Having insurance coverage for contraception also increases worker productivity and encourages better use. Women without insurance who do not like their form of contraception but are stuck with it are more likely to use it inconsistently or incorrectly. Having insurance allows them to choose the best method for them.

“Removing cost as a barrier to use can significantly improve the effectiveness of contraceptive use by allowing women to pick the method that is best suited for their particular needs and circumstances – especially when it comes to highly effective methods like the IUD and implant that have high upfront costs,” Guttmacher states.

Currently, 30 million women have access to birth control without co-pays or deductibles because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, the Supreme Court ruled in Hobby Lobby v. Burwell that “closely-held” corporations could not be required to provide health insurance coverage for methods of contraception that violate the corporation’s sincerely held religious beliefs. A bill to reverse this decision failed in the Senate Wednesday.

Media Resources: Guttmacher Institute 7/16/14; Feminist Newswire 7/1/14, 7/17/14

Nigeria Secures $15 Million Grant from Norway to Reduce Maternal Mortality

Posted on July 18, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Norway has provided a $15 million grant to the Nigerian government to help the country reduce maternal and child mortality. The grant comes days after the Nigerian Demographic Health Survey of 2013 results spotlighted persistently high rates of child marriages and maternal deaths across the nation.

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Nigeria currently accounts for 13 percent of the world’s maternal deaths, with 36,000 women dying in pregnancy or childbirth each year. The Nigerian Health Ministry is currently working to carry out the Harmonized Country Plan of Priority Interventions (HCPPI) with the intention to save the lives of an additional 420,000 mothers and children by 2015 at a total cost of $650 million, but was facing a significant challenge funding the program. With Norway’s help, the program will now flourish.

“The Tripartite Agreement we have signed today represents one of the many efforts to meet the resource gap,” said Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu. “We have available commitments totaling $121 million currently being mobilized through projects from the Private Health Sector Alliance, UNICEF, GFATM, the Federal Ministry of Health, USAID, and GE Healthy Imagination among other, leaving $299 [million] outstanding.”

Nigeria’s HCCPI will target three northern states – Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina – and expects to reduce maternal and neonatal death by 40 percent before the end of 2015, saving the lives of 2961 mothers’ lives and 19,825 small children.

In allowing for better implementation of HCPPI, Norway’s grant will help Nigeria meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by next year. The fourth and fifth MDGs called on countries to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds, reduce their national maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters, and achieve universal access to reproductive health and family planning. In Nigeria, only 9.8 percent of women are using family planning services, and 16.1 percent have an unmet need for family planning services.

Media Resources: AllAfrica 7/17/14; UN Millennium Development Goals; Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health

Bill to Reverse Hobby Lobby Decision Blocked in the Senate

Posted on July 17, 2014August 27, 2019 by Feminist Newswire

A bill introduced by Senate Democrats to reverse the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hobby Lobby case was blocked by a procedural vote on Wednesday.

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Although 56 Senators voted to move the bill forward, the Protect Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act did not receive the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster. The bill, sponsored by Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mark Udall (D-CO), would have prohibited for-profit employers from refusing to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“Women across the country today watched as all but three Republicans showed they care more about protecting the rights of CEOs and corporations than about protecting the rights of women to access critical healthcare coverage,” said Senator Murray at a news conference. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), voted in favor of the bill.

On June 30, the US Supreme Court held in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that “closely held,” for-profit corporations would not be required to provide health insurance coverage for contraception if the owners had a religious objection. The term “closely held” has not been clearly defined, but the Wall Street Journal estimates 90 percent of all companies in the US fall under this category.

Feminist Majority Foundation president Eleanor Smeal said the Hobby Lobby decision “not only deprives women of comprehensive healthcare, but… sets a terrifying standard in affirming the ‘personhood’ of corporations.”

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated Wednesday that he intended to hold another vote on the bill later this year.

Media Resources: Politico 7/16/14; Reuters 7/16/14; Feminist Newswire 7/8/14, 7/1/14; Wall Street Journal 6/30/14

Federal Judge Finds California Death Penalty Unconstitutional

Posted on July 17, 2014June 10, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

A federal judge ruled California’s death penalty unconstitutional, finding that the sentence “serves no penological purpose.”

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US District Judge Cormac J. Carney, a George W. Bush appointee, issued a strong condemnation of the state’s capital punishment system in a 29-page ruling filed Wednesday. Judge Carney criticized the state of limbo the California system creates for those receiving the death penalty, calling it an “arbitrary” and “unpredictable” sentence.

Ernest Dewayne Jones, the plaintiff in the case, was first put on death row 19 years ago. In April 1995, Jones was charged with the rape and stabbing murder of his girlfriend’s mother. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Jones trial played out a few doors away from the much-publicized O.J. Simpson trial without drawing comparable fanfare or legal resources, opening up the question of whether poorer defendants are disadvantaged in the system. Judge Carney’s decision vacates Jones’ death sentence.

California has the nation’s largest death row population, but has not executed anyone since 2006, when a federal court found problems with the lethal injection procedure. California voters, however, approved the death penalty in 1972, 1978, and narrowly again in 2012, with 48 percent of Californians voting to replace it with life in prison without parole.

Wednesday’s decision is not expected to lead to any immediate changes. A spokesperson for Attorney General Kamala Harris said the office is reviewing the ruling.

Media Resources: Wall Street Journal 7/16/14; U.S. District Court Central District of California 7/16/14; New York Times 7/16/14; SF Gate 7/16/14; Los Angeles Times 4/6/95