Migration Category: National Old Site

As a result of Congress’ failure to reauthorize the funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) budget, the FAA has been shut down since last Friday, leaving approximately 4,000 FAA employees furloughed and 70,000 likely to lose their jobs as a result of all construction jobs at airports coming to a stop. Although airports and air traffic control remain open, the FAA has been forced to halt long-term airport improvement and construction projects. Moreover, without reauthorization, the FAA is unable to collect taxes on airline tickets, a loss of $200 million per week Several small airports have already been closed.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) International President Veda Shook, stated “The House Republican leadership has been holding the negotiations over this critical funding bill hostage in their single-minded crusade against workers’ right to join a union and bargain for a contract. Republicans are disregarding the democratic principle that majority rules – demanding instead that votes not cast be counted as no votes. Not one member of Congress would be in office today if they were held to the same standard in their elections.”

The Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee John Mica (R-FL) has been holding the reauthorization hostage, according to the Democrats. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, stated, “I wish I could understand why the desires of one company… matters more than thousands who have been furloughed….This is not policy. This is pettiness. It’s the typical ‘my way or the highway’ that has become the mantra of House Republicans.” Mica denies such claims.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina House voted 72-48 to override Governor Beverly Perdue’s (D-NC) veto of an abortion bill (HB 845) that would require women seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours after mandatory counseling and obtain an ultrasound. It is estimated that if passed, the new requirements would lead to around 2,900 additional births annually and would cost taxpayers $6.7 million in the first year and $35 million over 5 years.

Governor Perdue stated, “the bill contains provisions that are the most extreme in the nation in terms of interfering with that relationship [between patients and their doctors]. Physicians must be free to advise and treat their patients based on their medical knowledge and expertise and not have their advice overridden by elected officials seeking to impost their own ideological agenda on others.”

The bill will now go to the Republican-controlled state Senate. The Senate which initially passed the bill 29-20 will need three-fifths majority in order to override the veto and pass the bill into law without Perdue’s signature.

Sexual assault screening should be a routine part of a woman’s healthcare, according to a new Committee Opinion of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Doctors “can be instrumental in stopping the cycle of abuse,” Dr. Veronica Gillispie, a co-author of the Committee Opinion in the Journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, stated.

More than 300,000 American women are sexually assaulted each year in the US but the actual number of sexual assaults is probably higher since the crime often goes unreported. Moreover, ACOG reports that approximately 32,000 pregnancies result from rape annually. Victims can suffer from a wide range of health problems, from unintended pregnancy to post traumatic stress disorder to broken bones and bullet wounds.

“By identifying victims of sexual assault and encouraging them to report their abuse, these problems can be better addressed and even prevented,” said Gillispie.

Hundreds of Roman Catholic priests from all over the world are challenging the Vatican to rethink all-male celibate priesthood and ordain women priests. In the United States, 157 Roman Catholic priests signed a statement in support Roy Bourgeois, a member of the Maryknoll religious order and priest who faces dismissal for taking part in a ceremony that purported to ordain Janice Sevre-Duszynskaas. The statement was organized by Call to Action, a group that advocates change in the church.

Sevre-Duszynska, now a member of the Roman Catholic Women Priests, began her journey to priesthood in 1998. She gained media attention over the years for “disrupting” services and conferences calling for ordination of women priests. In 2008, Bourgeois delivered the homily ordaining her a “womanpriest.” Following the ceremony, Bourgeois received a letter from the Vatican demanding that he recant his belief and public statements for the ordination of women or he would be excommunicated. He did not recant and has not yet been excommunicated.

In June, 300 Austrian priests and deacons issued a “Call to Disobedience” to promote priesthood for both married men and women. The Austrian priests and deacons read aloud a public prayer for “church reform” in every Mass.

In 1994, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, declaring that the church “has no authority whatsoever” to ordain women as priests. The church argues that the Apostles of Jesus Christ were all men, and since all-male priesthood has been their practice all along, it cannot be changed.

Fourteen women US senators sent a letter to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday asking him to lift the country’s ban on women drivers. “As you know, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world with such a ban on women driving,” the senators wrote, “and maintaining such a restriction stands in stark contrast with the commitments your government has made to promote the rights of Saudi women.”

The signers were led by Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer and Mary Landrieu and included Senators Dianne Feinstein, Patty Murray, Claire McCaskill, Barbara Mikulksi, Jeanne Shaheen, Maria Cantwell, Kirsten Gillibrand, Debbie Stabenow, Amy Klobuchar and Kay Hagan – all Democrats – as well as Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

On June 17, some 40 Saudi women got behind the wheel to protest the driving ban, which is based on religious rulings by senior clerics. Currently, Saudi Arabia does not have written laws barring women from driving. Women activists have continued to make forays onto the roads since then, often posting videos of themselves driving on social networks. Several dozen women have defied the ban in recent months, often tweeting about their experiences and posting videos of themselves behind the wheel on YouTube. A handful of women have been detained, including Manal al-Sharif, an IT consultant whose arrest in May inspired the wave of resistance.

Iranian women’s rights activist Maryam Bigdeli was arrested for the second time in two years. Bigdeli was picked up by authorities in Qom last week to finish serving a 2009 sentence for campaigning to reform laws that discriminate against women, according to Radio Zamaneh, an Iranian news service based in the Netherlands.

Bigdeli and fellow activist Fatemeh Masjedi were sentenced to six months in prison and a $2,000 fine in 2009 “for propaganda against the Islamic Republic” after taking part in the One Million Signatures Campaign for legal reform. Bigdeli challenged the sentence, but a court has rejected the challenge. Masjedi has already served six months and released.

The One Million Signatures Campaign has received numerous international honors, including the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Global Women’s Rights Award and the Simone de Beauvoir Award. Bigdeli and Masjedi were previously involved in an effort to defend a young woman against a planned honor killing.

A study based on a circumcision program conducted in Orange Farm, South Africa revealed that circumcising adult males is effective in preventing the spread of HIV. The study “resulted in a 55% reduction in HIV prevalence and a 76% reduction in HIV incidence in circumcised men.” This study is the first to link an increased rate of adult male circumcision to a reduction in the spread of HIV. The results of the study were presented at the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention by the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis.

Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS, stated, “Science is proving that we are at the tipping point of the epidemic. Urgent action is not needed to close the gap between science and implementation to reach the millions of people who are waiting for these discoveries. Scaling up voluntary medical male circumcision services rapidly to young men in high HIV prevalence settings will help reach the 2015 goal of reducing sexual transmission of HIV by 50%.”

UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) nevertheless indicated that male circumcision only offers partial protection and encouraged the regular HIV testing and counseling services, as well as the adoption of safe sex practices.

On Sunday, hundreds of same-sex couples officially married in New York as the state’s Marriage Equality Act went into effect. Same-sex couples in New York can now enjoy the rights, benefits and protections attached to marriage, such as the right to visit a partner in the hospital and the right to make decisions about the partner’s medical care that are currently limited to married couples of the opposite sex.

The New York City clerk’s office has received over 2,600 requests from same-sex couples for marriage licenses since the language on the application changed from “Groom and Bride” to “Spouse A and Spouse B.” Given the large number of marriage applications, the New York City clerk’s office established a lottery system, which selected 764 couples to be married on Sunday.

In late June, the New York Senate passed the Marriage Equality Act by a vote of 33 to 29, with four Republicans joining all but one Democrat in supporting the measure. Governor Cuomo signed the bill into law that evening. The bill passed the state Assembly by an 80-63 vote earlier in June.

New York is the sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage, following Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and the District of Columbia.

President Obama announced that the US ban on gays serving openly in the military will be lifted on September 20, bringing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy to an end. The President met with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen to certify that the armed forces are ready for the change.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell forces gay and bisexual service people to keep their sexual orientation a secret or face possible expulsion from the military. More than 14,000 men and women have been discharged in the policy’s 17-year history, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi applauded the move. “When the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is complete, we will send a clear message to every American: anyone with the courage to wear our nation’s uniform will be judged not by whom they love, but by their skill, ability, and love of country,” said Pelosi in a written statement.

DADT was instituted by former President Bill Clinton in 1993 and prohibits the military from inquiring about a service member’s sexual orientation, and also calls for the discharge of anyone who acknowledges being lesbian or gay. Thus far, the policy has led to the expulsion of more than 13,000 troops.

Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) signed a bill into law that will restrict abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy unless a doctor determines the fetus is not viable or if the woman’s life is endangered. The bill does not include an exception for instances of rape and incest. Doctors who break this law could face arrest or have their medical licenses revoked.

Elizabeth Nash, public policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, stated, “This is a big deal, in that it could have a real chilling effect on later abortions because there’s a potential to be thrust into the court system for providing an abortion after viability. It would be a huge burden for a provider to go through all of that and have to hire a lawyer to prove that you provided an abortion under the law.”

Ohio joins 39 other states with late-term abortion limits, including seven states that passed similar legislation: Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, and Alabama. Since January, the Ohio legislature has taken up eight other abortion related bills.

Asha Osman Aqiil, Somalia’s new minister for women and family affairs, was abducted by Islamist rebels late Wednesday night, the day after her appointment was announced. The abduction occurred while Aqiil was on her way to her first cabinet meeting. She was travelling in an area controlled by al Shabaab militants. Aqiil is the only woman in the new 18 member government.

Al Shabaab has a history of targeting government ministers. Last month, al Shabaab was accused of killing Interior Minister Abdi Shakur Sheikh Hassan in a suicide bomb attack. Sahra Maalin, a women’s rights activist described Aqiil’s abduction as a “collective punishment against Somali women and all those who believe in equality.”

Since the overthrow of Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has not had an effective central government. Additionally, earlier in the week, the UN declared that there is famine in two of Somalia’s regions under rebel control. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, thousands have died in Somalia over the past months because of the severe drought and famine. The abduction of Asha Osman Aqiil has heightened famine aid groups’ security fears as they plan to make food deliveries.

A new study has found that the method of abortion through telemedicine is just as effective and safe for patients as the face-to-face method. Telemedicine allows physicians to remotely counsel each patient and to supervise administration of the drug mifepristone as the nurse dispenses the medication.

The study is among the first reports on telemedicine and was conducted by Dr. Daniel Grossman at University of California-San Francisco at Planned Parenthood clinics throughout Iowa. The study found that 94% of the women who chose telemedicine report being “very satisfied” with the procedure. Researchers found that women who received counseling through telemedicine had no more complications than those with office visits.

In a country in which 88% of counties have no abortion provider, telemedicine abortions have become an increasingly popular method, affording the option of abortion in many areas in which that choice would otherwise not be available.

Five states have banned telemedicine abortions – Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, and North Dakota, though yesterday in North Dakota, a state with only one abortion clinic, a judge put a temporary restraining order on the statewide ban. Representative Steve King (R-IA) is attempting to ban the procedure in Iowa, attaching it to an agricultural bill that passed the Iowa House last month.

Democrat Dave Hansen won in the first of nine recall elections in Wisconsin this week, easily defending his seat in the state Senate from a Republican challenger. Hansen garnered 66 percent of the vote to defeat David Vanderleest.

Hansen was one of three Democrats facing a recall effort after fleeing the state for nearly a month earlier this year to delay a vote on a controversial anti-union bill backed by GOP Governor Scott Walker. Two other Democrats and six Republicans are slated for recall votes next month. If Democrats win two more in the state senate, they will hold the majority.

“Obviously, we are preparing for what will be the largest get-out-of-the-vote operation since Barack Obama was elected,” said Mike Tate, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “We live in a state where both bases are very, very engaged and energized.”

The House Foreign Relations Committee voted Thursday to reinstate and expand a ban on funding for family planning programs in developing countries that counsel or provide information to women or advocate on a full range of options, including abortion. The ban would be an expansion of the policy, eliminating all funding for family planning programs that discuss abortion without making any exceptions for certain programs such as funds for HIV/AIDS.

Commonly referred to as the Global Gag Rule, President Ronald Reagan implemented it through an executive order; President Clinton rescinded the executive order; President George W. Bush reinstated the executive order; and President Obama rescinded it.

On the second day of a marathon session, Ranking Democrat Howard Berman (CA) proposed an amendment to the State Department and foreign operations authorization bill that would take out the restrictive language that bans such funding. Berman argued that the policy “prevents poor women and families around the world from gaining access to essential information and health care services.” The Berman amendment failed by a 17 to 25 vote, which was mostly along party lines – all but one Democrat, Representative Ben Chandler (KY), voted for the Berman amendment.

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of the Philadelphia diocese, which has been the center of a major sex abuse scandal. Rigali handed in his resignation on his 75th as is customary in the Catholic Church. It is not clear whether the abuse allegations played a role in Pope Benedict XVI’s decision on Tuesday to accept the resignation.

In February, a grand jury found evidence the archdiocese under Rigali had conspired to cover up sexual misconduct by as many as 37 priests. A month later, Rigali suspended 21 priests accused of sexually abusing minors.

Rigali “never appreciated what a disaster he was involved in,” said Terence McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, an organization that documents cases of sexual abuse by priests throughout the United States. “Those grand jury reports have reframed Philadelphia in the first decade of the 21st century as the place where the sex-abuse crisis played out and in that, Rigali failed,” McKiernan said.

Rigali will be replaced by 66-year-old Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, who has won some praise for his handling of priest sex abuse cases, but who has also won a reputation as a staunch conservative and opponent of abortion and gay marriage.

Yesterday, President Obama announced his support for the repeal of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA defines marriage as between one man and one woman and denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages, as well as the legal benefits attached to marriage, including Social Security survivors’ benefits, family and medical leave, and immigration rights.

Jay Carney, White House spokesman, said that President Obama was “proud to support the [repeal effort], which would take the DOMA off the books once and for all.” Carney said President Obama supports the appeal in order to “uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as straight couples.”

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will conduct hearings that examine the Respect for Marriage Act , a proposed law that would repeal DOMA and “ensure respect for state regulation of marriage.” The Respect for Marriage Act would only apply to federal benefits and federal employees. The proposed law that is supported by the repeal effort requires federal government to treat same-sex married couples equally in federal programs and benefits as opposite-sex married couples. The legislation would not require states to legalize same-sex marriage or dictate the rights and responsibilities of marriage under state law.

In February , the Obama administration declared DOMA unconstitutional and said that the Justice Department would not defend it against any legal challenges, though the administration would continue to enforce the law until it was repealed. Currently, only 29 senators support the DOMA repeal bill.

House Bill 78, which will limit women’s access to late-term abortions in the state, has passed the state legislature and will now go to Ohio Governor John Kasich (R), who is likely to sign the bill. House Bill 78 will restrict abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy unless a doctor determines the fetus is not viable. The bill does not include an exception when the health or life of the woman is at risk. The bill passed the Republican-controlled Senate with a 27-7 vote.

If Governor Kasich signs the bill, Ohio will join 39 other states with late-term abortion limits, including seven states that passed similar legislation: Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, and Alabama. In the upcoming weeks, Kasich will also decide whether to pass another abortion bill that would restrict abortions after the detection of the fetal heartbeat into law. Since January, Ohio has taken up eight other abortion related bills.

Senator Nina Turner (D-OH) stated that the bill “denies a woman her individual right, her civil rights and her human rights to have control over her body.” Executive Director of Right to Life Mike Gonidakis stated that he believes the bill will impact more than 600 abortions per year.

The rate of Cesarean sections in the US is rising quickly and is prompting concern among health professionals. In 2009, 34 percent of pregnancies ended in a c-section, compared to 27 percent in 2002, a study by the independent health care ratings organization Healthgrade found.

The rise is “quite dramatic,” said Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical director of the March of Dimes, which promotes health for mothers and babies. “Cesarean section should be done at the right time and for the right reason,” Fleischman said. “Some cesarean sections are being done too early and not for the right reason. Convenience for the woman or her doctor isn’t the right reason.”

Besides the ease of planning a birth time, the report found more c-sections were being performed because women were not aware of the risks associated with the procedure and because doctors feared malpractice suits. Other factors included increasing rates of diabetes and obesity among pregnant women, as well as women’s tendency to give birth later in life.

According to an NIH press release, Dr. F. Gary Cunningham, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas stated, “Declining VBAC rates and increasing cesarean delivery rates over the last 15 years would seem to indicate that planned repeat cesarean delivery is preferable to a trial of labor. But the currently available evidence suggests a very different picture: a trial of labor is worth considering and may be preferable for many women.”

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations released today for well-woman care are historic and the result of years of advocacy and persistent work of the women’s health movement, the improved status of women, and the leadership of the Obama Administration. These guidelines, if adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will increase vitally needed and often lifesaving preventive services for women.

Today’s IOM recommendations, if adopted, would require private insurers to cover an annual well-woman visit and a variety of specific health screenings and counseling, such as for domestic and interpersonal violence, gestational diabetes, cervical cancer (an HPV DNA screening), HIV and STIs, as well as all FDA-approved contraceptives, sterilization procedures, breastfeeding support, lactation services, and supplies. The IOM was tasked with advising HHS on the types of preventive care services that insurers will be required to cover, without a co-pay, under their health care plans.

Birth control and other women’s health services will not be free but will be fully covered for all women who have health insurance, without any additional charges or co-pays. This rule will apply to new insurance policies that are issued after the expiration of a one year waiting period, which starts after HHS adoption of the recommendations, and to all plans by 2018.

Feminist Majority Foundation urges HHS to promptly adopt and begin implementation of these recommendations, which will dramatically increase women’s access to preventive health care, including family planning services, improving the health and lives of women in every state. For women, the IOM recommendations are a game-changer.