Migration Category: National Old Site

Yesterday Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) reintroduced the Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act, which would transfer all funding for Title V abstinence-only program to the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP). The would strike a provision of the Social Security Act that has enabled funding for abstinence-only programs since 1996 and would redistribute $50 million annually to sex education programs through the PREP program, which funds comprehensive, evidence-based programs that include information not only on abstinence, but also on contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections.

Monica Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SEICUS), stated, “The focus of the government this year needs to be on increasing the health and well-being of our nation’s young people by smartly investing in health education programs that work and eliminating wasteful programs that don’t serve any purpose but to line the pockets of special interests. Eliminating the failed and ineffective Title V abstinence-only programs so we can concentrate on bringing real, comprehensive sexuality education to young people is a good step in achieving these goals.”

Over the past 15 years, Congress has allocated more than $1.5 billion in federal funds to absence-only programs. Title V abstinence funding originally expired in June 2009, but was reinstated by an amendment to the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Planned Parenthood announced that it would file a lawsuit against South Dakota if Governor Dennis Daugaard (R) signs an anti-abortion bill that would impose a 72 hour waiting period on women seeking abortions. The bill would also require women to receive counseling at a “pregnancy help center” or crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) prior to obtaining an abortion. These centers are typically run by anti-abortion volunteers who are not licensed medical professionals and may prevent women from receiving neutral and comprehensive medical advice.

Sarah Stoesz, CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota described the bill as, “an egregious violation of the Constitution.” Current South Dakota law requires that women wait for 24 hours before having an abortion. Under South Dakota law, Women seeking abortions in the state must also be given an opportunity to view a sonogram.

Governor Daugaard has until March 24 to sign the bill. His spokesman, Joe Kafka, indicated that the the Governor will likely sign the bill, despite the possibility of a lawsuit.

A Virginia law requiring clinics that perform first trimester abortions to meet Board of Health regulations on hospitals will become effective just as Republican Governor Bob McDonnell’s six appointees assume positions on the 15 member board. After Governor McDonnell appoints the two additional members in the coming months, he will have appointed eight total members. At that time, his appointees will make up a majority on the panel and give the anti-abortion governor influence over abortion clinic regulations.

The regulations on hospitals are far more stringent those on physician’s offices and could cause as many as 17 of the state’s 21 abortion clinics to shut down as a result of the cost to implement the required changes.

These regulations will significantly and unnecessarily increase the cost of early abortions and will make it more difficult to get an abortion in Virginia. Reproductive rights groups, including the Feminist Majority, the National Organization for Women, and the American Civil Liberties Union oppose the law, which imposes unnecessary and onerous regulations on abortion providers and restricts women’s access to reproductive health services.

In Maryland, thousands of teachers and public workers gathered last night at the state Capitol in Annapolis to protest Governor Martin O’Malley’s (D) budget plan, which propose to freeze educational funding and raised employee pension contributions. The protestors chanted, “keep the promise” and “hands off our pensions.”

At the conclusion of the rally, Governor O’Malley spoke to the crowd “I don’t like this budget either, but I wanted to come here and say this: Our state is not like other states. We are a great state…because our public employees do a good job every single day. You will not find in Maryland the sort of Midwestern repression that goes on in places like Wisconsin…Ohio, that are doing away with collective bargaining.”

Earlier this month, approximately 1,500 demonstrators gathered at City Hall in Providence, Rhode Island to protest the dismissal of Providence’s entire teaching force. Due to a Rhode Island law, which requires that teachers receive notification about potential layoffs or terminations by March 1, the school board sent termination notices to all of Providence’s 1,926 teachers, though many will be rehired.

On Friday, the Maryland House of Delegates referred the state’s same sex marriage bill back to committee. Since the Maryland General Assembly will end its session in early April, the bill will not be up for debate again until January 2012 at the earliest. Governor Martin O’Malley (D) expressed his disappointment about the stalled bill to the Washington Post, “I would have hoped that we could have resolved this issue and then let the people decide.”

Equality Maryland said its press statement, “Our setback today only strengthens our determination to redouble our efforts to ensure that our voices are heard and our rights are protected. We know our cause is just. We know that a growing majority of Marylanders believe in the same values of fairness and equality.”

The Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee passed the bill by a vote of 12-10 in early March. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (SB 116), a same-sex marriage bill, also passed the state Senate on February 24 by a vote of 25 to 21.

Currently, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington DC allow marriage of same-sex couples. Six states, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii allow same-sex couples to form civil unions or domestic partnerships, which carry some of the benefits of marriage.

In a vote of 14 to 3, the New Hampshire House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee voted late last week to hold a bill that would prevent the state’s Department of Health and Human Services from establishing a contract with any organization that provides abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood until. The bill will be held until the next legislative session.

Opponents of the bill noted the many valuable services that Planned Parenthood provides to low income women in New Hampshire, including contraception, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for STIs, including HIV.

Planned Parenthood health centers across the country conduct over one million cervical cancer screenings and 830,000 breast exams yearly. Its clinics also provide contraception to approximately 2.5 million women per year.

In an unusual maneuver, the Georgia Senate Rules Committee met to vote on SB 209, which would ban women from getting abortion in Georgia after 20 weeks, but without any discussion, replaced that bill with another bill that would prohibit women from getting an abortion in any medical facility other than a hospital.

Pro-choice supporters are descending on the Capitol to protest. This procedure moved a bill forward without adequate notice or hearings. This bill would effectively make abortion inaccessible in Georgia.

Janelle Yamarick, community services director at the Feminist Women’s Health Center of DeKalb County, GA, pointed out that 95 percent of abortions are performed in private doctors’ offices, licensed surgical centers, and clinics. Yamarick clarified, “To put it in a nutshell abortions would be legal in Georgia, you just couldn’t get one.”

The Committee will reconvene this morning to vote on the bill. If the Committee votes for the bill, it must vote again next week in order for the bill to go to the Georgia Senate floor for a vote.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted 53-42, with only four Republicans voting against the bill, in favor of Republican Governor Walker’s extreme anti-union bill that proposes take away the right of unions to collectively bargain for benefits, hours, and working conditions. Governor Walker told the Associated Press that he would sign the anti-union bill, “as quickly as I legally can.”

Yesterday Wisconsin Republican senators broke Senate rules and Wisconsin law and voted in conference committee yesterday to take away collective bargaining rights of public workers. In the absence of the 14 Democratic senators who fled the state in a strategy the make Governor Scott Walker (R) negotiate with them, the Republican senators voted in conference to strip the House bill of its spending measures to bypass the Senate 60 percent quorum. Then the Republican Senators voted 18-1, with only Republicans voting.

Over the past three weeks, tens of thousands of protestors have been gathering daily in Madison, WI to protest the anti-union bill. A significant number of protestors have also been sleeping in the Capitol Rotunda.

Breaking Senate rules and Wisconsin law, Wisconsin Republican senators voted in conference committee yesterday to take away collective bargaining rights of public workers. In the absence of the 14 Democratic senators who fled the state in a strategy the make Governor Scott Walker (R) negotiate with them, the Republican senators voted in conference to strip the House bill of its spending measures to bypass the Senate 60 percent quorum. Then the Republican Senators voted 18-1, with only Republicans voting. The Republican senators violated the Wisconsin Open Public Meetings Law requiring that 24 hours’ notice be given prior to a meeting.

After the Republican Senate vote, about 7,000 protestors peacefully descended on the Wisconsin Capitol carrying drums and horns and chanting. Over the past three weeks, tens of thousands of protestors have been gathering daily in Madison, WI to protest the anti-union bill. A significant number of protestors have also been sleeping in the Capitol Rotunda and are vowing to stay until the issue is resolved.

Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, stated, “The feminist movement stands firmly with the public workers. This attack on public workers, many of whom are women who can hardly make ends meet while once again millionaires are given tax breaks, must stop.”

Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO called the stand-alone union busting a nuclear option, and Democrats are vowing to fight back. Governor Walker’s extreme anti-union bill proposes to reduce state workers’ salaries and take away the right of unions to collectively bargain for benefits, hours, and working conditions. The bill would cut public workers’ wages between six and eight percent.

Governor Walker, endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life, considers himself 100 percent pro-life and opposes abortion for all reasons, even in the cases of rape, incest, and when the woman’s life is endangered. Walker also opposes stem cell research and is in favor of cuts to family planning funding.

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, convened by Republican House Speaker John Boehner (OH) voted 3-2 yesterday to authorize the House to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. Both Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) voted against the proposal. In February, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Obama administration will no longer defend DOMA in court on the grounds that it considers the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

Joe Solmoese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, stated, “Apparently, the Republicans’ jobs plan is a full employment project for right-wing lawyers bent on defending discrimination. With today’s vote, Speaker Boehner has made clear that an anti-equality agenda trumps helping American families in tough economic times, including loving and committed couples who are legally married in their states.”

The federal law banning same-sex marriage nevertheless remains in place. Currently, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington DC allow marriage of same-sex couples. Six states, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii allow same-sex couples to form civil unions or domestic partnerships, which carry many of the benefits of marriage.

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. DOMA was passed in 1996.

The Military Leadership Diversity Commission released a report that recommended that the Pentagon change its policies to allow women in combat. The Commission reported that despite official military policy, women’s participation in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has increasingly included direct combat. The military’s failure to allow women to serve in these positions therefore limits women’s chance of promotion and would ultimately enable the military to increase the number of women in its ranks.

Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, stated, “The artificial, so-called exclusion of women from military combat has resulted in the military accepting less-qualified men in its ranks. This has not only limited opportunities for women but has injured the capabilities of the military.”

The report stated that “DoD and the Service must remove institutional barriers in order to open traditionally closed doors, especially those relating to assignments – both the initial career field assignment and subsequent assignments to key positions. An important step in this direction is that DoD and the Service eliminate combat exclusion policies, especially for women, including removing barriers and inconsistencies, to create a level playing field for all servicemembers who meet the qualifications.”

The Commission, established by Congress in 2009, is comprised of senior retired and active military officers. The United States currently restricts women from direct combat roles in infantry positions or in the Special Forces. A 1994 Department of Defense directive banned women from units that primarily engage in direct combat.

Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia, announced yesterday that he will suspend 21 priests accused of sexually abusing minors. The suspension follows the release of a grand jury report last month that alleged that the archdiocese was involved in an extensive cover-up of the sexual misconduct of as many as 37 priests. According to Terence McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, “The mass suspension was the single-most sweeping in the history of the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.”

Barbara Dorris, outreach director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, stated, “if some credibly accused predator priests are suspended, it will be a small step forward made terribly late and only due to massive pressure. It’s a very belated and begrudging beginning – nothing more. And we do an enormous disservice to many innocent kids and still-suffering adults if we even begin to feel complacent because of this one small step.”

The grand jury report also accused Monsignor William Lynn, former secretary to the clergy under Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, of two counts “endangering the welfare of a child.” This is the first time a high-ranking official in the Roman Catholic Church is facing sexual abuse charges in the US for the failure to protect children. Charges were also filed against three priests and a parochial schoolteacher for raping boys as young as ten-years-old over the course of several years.

In 2005, a grand jury report was filed against the Philadelphia Archdiocese and Monsignor Lynn, accusing Lynn of concealing the sexual crimes of the priests within his laity. However, the charges were dropped due to Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations since the incidents had occurred 11 years prior.

After postponing the vote from today, the Maryland House is expected to vote tomorrow on the Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would grant marriage rights to same-sex couples in Maryland. Seventy-one votes are needed for the bill to pass into law The Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee passed the bill, by a vote of 12-10 late last week. House Majority Leader Kumar Barve (D-17) explained, “To me, this legislation is all about family, liberty and respect. I respect the civil liberties of same-sex couples who wish to solemnize their relations and families in the eyes of the law.”

Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, stated, “We applaud the Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee for ending attempts to hold our families hostage to political maneuvering. Maryland is at the forefront in the fight for equality and will go down on the right side of history.”

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (SB 116) passed the state Senate on February 24 by a vote of 25 to 21. The bill awaits a vote in the Maryland House of Delegates. If the bill is passed by the state legislature, Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD) has publicly declared that he would sign the bill into law.

Currently, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington DC allow marriage of same-sex couples. Six states, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii allow same-sex couples to form civil unions or domestic partnerships, which carry some of the benefits of marriage.

The Supreme Court Justices ruled 8-1 this week that under the First Amendment, the Westboro Baptist Church does not have to pay damages to the father of a Marine for protesting his son’s funeral. While protesting, the group also carried signs stating, “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” The Supreme Court’s ruling overturned an earlier ruling, which awarded money to Albert Synder, who sued the Westboro Baptist Church, for “the intentional infliction of emotional distress,” according to the New York Times.

Justice John Roberts clarified, “Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and – as it did here – inflict great pain…we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker.” Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was the sole dissenting vote in the case, writing “Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case.”

The Westboro Baptist Church, founded by Reverend Fred Phelps in Kansas, is known for its fierce anti-gay rhetoric, hate speech, and protests at the anti-gay protests at military funerals.

On Wednesday, approximately 1,500 demonstrators gathered at City Hall in Providence, RI to protest the dismissal of Providence’s entire teaching force. Due to a Rhode Island law, which requires that teachers receive notification about potential layoffs or terminations by March 1, the school board sent termination notices to all of Providence’s 1,926, though many will be rehired. Mayor Angel Taveras (D) told the New York Times, “Given that we don’t know the schools yet that we’re going to target,” he said in an interview, the most appropriate thing is to require notices to all the teachers.”

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teacher stated, “I thought the only insanity was in Wisconsin, not in Rhode Island…Why destroy a school system and undo years of reform and dehumanize every teacher in the school system?”

The teachers union filed a complaint with the state labor relations board for “unfair labor practices.” The Providence school district is the largest in Rhode Island and serves over 23,000 students, approximately 80 percent of whom are Hispanic and black.

Yesterday the New York City Council voted 39 to 9, with one abstention, to pass a bill that would require crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to disclose whether they provide emergency contraception and abortion services and whether they have a licensed medical practitioner on site. Evelyn Erskine, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) stated that she expected the major to sign the bill in the next few weeks. The new law will impact approximately 12 CPCs in New York.

Sabrina Shulman, political director of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, asserted, “It has been neither coincidence nor by accident that CPCs have been deceiving women about their true nature. Until now, deception has been their business model. This needs to stop. Today it will.”

Currently, there are an estimated 3,500 CPCs nationwide, most of which are affiliated with one or more national umbrella organizations. CPCs often pose as comprehensive health centers and offer “free” pregnancy tests. Some CPCs coerce and intimidate women out of considering abortion as an option, and prevent women from receiving neutral and comprehensive medical advice. These clinics are typically run by anti-abortion zealots who are not licensed medical professionals.

According to a White House report, women surpass men in college enrollment but make less money on average and are more likely to live in poverty. Valeria Jarrett, a senior advisor to President Obama, and Tina Tchen, chief of staff to Michelle Obama, clarified “Women have not only caught up with men in college attendance but younger women are now more likely than younger men to have a college or a master’s degree. Yet, these gains in education and labor force involvement have not yet translated to wage and income equity.”

Although the report found that men had a greater unemployment rate than women, it attributes women’s greater incidence of poverty in part to the fact that single-mother households are more common than those with single fathers. The report is based on data from a half-dozen US government agencies and is described by White House officials as the most comprehensive report on the status of women to be compiled in 50 years.

Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) stated, “This report shows what we already know – women are largely outpacing men in education, yet still make just 77 cents to the dollar men make. Women make this country run. We deserve equal pay for equal work.” Women leaders and women’s rights groups have been working on the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which strengthens the Equal Pay Act and will help women fight wage discrimination, for over a dozen years.

Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), as well as 32 other organizations including the Feminist Majority Foundation, filed an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court in support of a class action suit against Wal-Mart for discriminating against its women employees in stores nationwide. Ten years ago, the women filed an initial suit against Wal-Mart for allegedly paying the women lower wages and giving them fewer promotions than less senior male employees.

Lenora Lapidus, Director of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, stated, “Denying women equal pay and equal opportunities at work violates our fundamental values of fairness and equality. All employees should have the right to challenge unequal treatment in the workplace. A class action lawsuit is the best mechanism to allow the employees of Wal-Mart, one of the largest employers in the country, to address their claims of discrimination.”

The brief states that the class action lawsuit is necessary since many of the women in the class lack the resources to file the lawsuit individually. The Supreme Court is currently determining whether the class action suit can proceed.