Migration Category: news-1-5000-national

The 2000 elections could produce a Democratically controlled Senate, and possibly by the narrowest margin. Thirteen seats are hotly contested in this year’s election, and Democratic candidates will need to fill 10 of those seats to reach a majority of 51. Women are fighting in some of the tightest Senate races. In Michigan, Democratic Representative Debbie Stabenow is up against Senator Spence Abraham and his soft money software giant Microsoft. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has been funneling thousands of dollars through the Michigan Chamber of Commerce to fund negative television advertisements against Stabenow. According to news reports, Microsoft and other high-tech companies have an interest in Abraham’s re-election because Abraham championed legislation that granted thousands of visas for foreign workers. Other Michigan Chamber of Commerce ads criticize Stabenow’s opposition to lessening inheritance tax–a Republican led initiative. Stabenow has been running her own television ad campaign to combat the out-of-state special interest groups. Michigan polls have Stabenow anywhere from 6 to 14 points behind Abraham, Stabenow is endorsed by a whole host of women’s PACs, including Emily’s List, NOW PAC, and NARAL PAC.

Other close races being forged by women include the New York Senate race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rick Lazio, and the Washington state race between Democrat Maria Cantwell and Incumbent Republican Senator Slade Gorton.

Texas executes more people than any other state. Since 1976, 232 people have been executed„the state with the next highest death count was Virginia with 80. Under George W. Bush’s five years of “compassionate conservatism” as Texas Governor, 145 people have been put to death. Bush wrote in his autobiography of the fact-weighing and careful decision-making he put in to his decisions to proceed with executions. However, according to copies of Bush’s schedules and correspondence obtained through Texas public-information laws, Bush’s 9 to 5 workday, interrupted by a 2-hour lunch, is primarily filled with photo opportunities, interviews and meetings with school groups. His schedules revealed a time-span of about 15 minutes spent deciding whether or not a person should die for the crime he or she has committed. After speaking of his legacy of capital punishment during a presidential debate, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert commented, “There was a disturbing, upbeat quality to the governor’s tone as he [spoke]. His face brightened in a way that was unsettling to much of the nation. He was so obviously and inappropriately pleased.”

More disturbing than Bush’s imprudence when deciding to end a person’s life are the rampant injustices that exist within the Texas capital punishment system. According to a report released by the Texas Defender Service, 25 percent of murder victims in Texas are black, but only .4 percent of prisoners executed in Texas are punished for murdering black victims. The report also found that mentally handicapped prisoners are often given inexperienced court-appointed lawyers; appeals processes are often impeded while execution dates are hastened, and in 84 cases Texas police falsified evidence.

Thousands of women filled the streets of Washington, D.C. on Sunday to participate in the 2000 World March of Women, protesting against global poverty, violence against women and sex discrimination. The March, organized by the National Organization for Women, included a march past the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund buildings where activists cried, “Shame, Shame, Shame,” and demanded debt relief and an end to world economic policies that destroy the poor, especially women and children in developing nations. After the March, feminist leaders, including NOW president, Patricia Ireland and Feminist Majority president, Eleanor Smeal, rallied activists, saying “Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights.” Speakers urged participants to elect candidates to office who would fight to protect abortion rights and gay rights and who would help bring an end domestic violence, racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty, and gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

A federal judge ruled today that Duke University must pay $2 million in damages to Heather Sue Mercer, a football player who was cut from the University’s team because she is a woman. Mercer sued Duke University under Title IX after then-coach Fred Goldsmith dropped her from the team in 1996, arguing that she did not have the necessary skills to play. Mercer, a place-kicker, had been a member of a championship high school team, and kicked 48-yard field goals while at Duke University. She testified that the coach commented, “Why do you insist on playing football? Why not try something like beauty pageants?” Title IX bars institutions who receive federal money from discriminating on the basis of sex, and has helped to improve women’s sports at the college level.

Former New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officer Elizabeth Bryant received $20,000 in a settlement with the City after testifying that she was discriminated against for being a lesbian. The case was settled out of court in September, but the settlement agreement was kept secret until a federal judge ordered that the records be made public. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan who originally heard the case, criticized the NYPD for their alleged lax investigation into the case. Bryant said the complaints she filed with the NYPD’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity were not properly investigated; she accused other officers and her supervisors of harassing her after she and another officer, Marilyn Trapanotto, exchanged vows in Central Park in 1997. Mary Jo White, US Attorney General for the Southern District of New York, had been monitoring the case, in accordance with a 1998 agreement that the NYPD improve its system for investigating harassment complaints.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a response to an August letter from misoprostol manufacturer Searle that warned against using the drug in pregnant women. Misoprostol is used in conjunction with mifepristone as a form of early, non-surgical abortion, and this combination has been used in France and other countries for over a decade. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone for use in conjunction with misoprostol as a form of early abortion on September 28. ACOG chair of obstetrics Charles Lockwood stated, according to National Public Radio, “After reviewing all the information that the FDA has accumulated, we find no reason to change our practice habits, we find no explanation for the Searle letter, and no real explanation for the timing of the Searle letter.” ACOG Also sent copies of the letter to Representatives Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), who cited Searle’s “warning” when introducing a bill to restrict women’s access to mifepristone.

It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the National Breast Cancer Coalition is celebrating a legislative victory. Yesterday, the US House of Representatives voted to pass the Breast and Cervical Cancer Act without an amendment that threatened to halt the bill’s progress. The Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act is an important piece of legislation that provides treatment for low-income women with breast cancer, closing the gap on an existing federal program that screens low-income women for these deadly diseases but does not provide for treatment upon diagnosis. The bill passed 421 to 1 in the House earlier this year, and the Senate version passed last week with a unanimous vote. The National Breast Cancer Coalition advocated a vote on this bill and a rejection of the proposed amendment.

After months of Republican stalling, the Senate unanimously voted yesterday to pass the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, an anti-crime bill that includes the Sex Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The law codifies VAWA for five years and authorizes $3 billion in funds for sexual assault and domestic violence prevention, including sexual assault prevention training for judges, battered women’s services, state-based services for victims of domestic violence, and transitional housing for victims of domestic violence. The law authorizes $94.5 million for victims of sex trafficking, creates special visas for victims of trafficking and slavery, and doubles the current maximum penalty for sex trafficking. In addition, the bill specifies that the United States withhold certain aid from governments who fail to enforce the provisions.

The Feminist Majority Foundation, along with other national women’s organizations, has campaigned for the reauthorization of this crucial legislation. FMF President Eleanor Smeal spoke at several recent press conferences, alongside feminist leaders and women members of Congress, demanding that Republican stop their political game-playing with this essential bill. Just after the bill was passed, the President and Vice President each issued statements in support of VAWA and the Sex Trafficking Victims Protection Act, demonstrating a commitment to protecting women from sexual assault and domestic violence.

The first 41 minutes of last night’s presidential debate, dominated by discussion of foreign policy, revealed that Republican candidate George W. Bush wanted to conduct foreign policy in the self-interest of the United States only. Democratic candidate Al Gore presented a bigger picture and wanted to base his foreign policy decisions on valuing human rights, democracy, humanitarianism and environmental concerns as well as U.S. interest. While Bush would focus his foreign policy on the U.S.’s interests narrowly defined, Gore expressed a global commitment to humanitarian values.

Also on human rights, Gore favored hate crimes measures that Bush opposed. For example, Bush stated that he opposed Senator Edward Kennedy’s (D-MA) version of a hate crimes bill in favor of Senator Orrin Hatch’s (R-UT) version. Unlike Hatch’s version, Kennedy’s proposed amendments to the Hate Crimes Prevention Act expands an existing federal hate crimes statute to cover cases involving sexual orientation, gender, and disability. Bush invoked right-wing rhetoric in saying, “I don’t think [gays and lesbians] ought to have special rights.” Many gay rights activists view the term “special rights” as a code word indicating an ultra-right-wing position opposing gay and lesbian equality.

Disappointingly, Gore missed opportunities to strongly show his support for domestic partnership protections and for stricter gun control legislation. He seldom, if ever, referred to women. Recent tracking polls show more swing in the women’s vote than in the men’s vote. Where women finally go will decide the outcome of the presidential election.

Despite George W. Bush’s statement during the first Presidential debates that the FDA approval of RU 486 was something he could not overturn, he promised to sign a Republican sponsored bill that would restrict the medication’s availability. Bush campaign spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush would have voiced support for the restrictions in Tuesday’s debate if he had been asked the question. In the first presidential debate, Bush backed off his earlier pledge to oppose mifepristone in an effort to defuse the growing importance of abortion rights in the campaign. Gore has stated his support for a woman’s right to choose and the FDA’s approval of mifepristone.

The abortion pill RU 486, or Mifeprex as it will be marketed in the US, not only provides women with a safe, effective and early method of ending pregnancy by pill, but it also has the potential to be an effective treatment for some types of ovarian cancer, fibroid tumors, meningiomas, endometriosis and other diseases that particularly afflict women. In recent articles, the Boston Globe and LA Times explored these other potentially life-saving indications. Mifepristone works to end pregnancies by blocking progesterone, a hormone the uterus requires to maintain pregnancy. Progesterone also causes tumor grown, which is why mifepristone’s ability to block the hormone may have implications for the treatment of cancer. The Feminist Majority Foundation has provided mifepristone for “compassionate use” treatment of cancer with the permission of the FDA. “Once the manufacturer gets up and running, they will have a bigger supply, and scientists who want to do clinical trials will find it easier to obtain the drug,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

The Senate is finally debating today, as we file this report, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which includes the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Sex Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as well as other anti-crime provisions. Republican leadership had been stalling the vote on VAWA for months. Feminist leaders had urged Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) to bring the bill to the floor for debate. A vote is anticipated by the end of today on both the trafficking act and VAWA. VAWA passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 415 to 3. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, with VAWA included, passed a joint House-Senate conference committee by a vote of 356 to 28.

After losing more than 70 national advertisers for her new television talk-show, radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger issued an apology to the gay and lesbian community for her on-air comments that homosexuals are “degenerate” and “a biological error.” The statement, which appeared in this month’s issue of Variety, came just after Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when people atone for their sins. Schlessinger did not apologize for her opinions or indicate that she had changed her views of gays and lesbians, saying only that, in discussing the issue, “some of [her] words were poorly chosen.” She upholds prior statements that her faith, Orthodox Judaism, mandates her view of homosexuality. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which has been a leading group in protesting Dr. Laura, responded to the apology, saying “Laura Schlessinger once again blames others for the impact of her rhetoric, refusing to take responsibility for her precisely chosen, scientifically inaccurate descriptions of gay and lesbian lives.” Gay and lesbian rights activists argue that Dr. Laura’s rhetoric continues to depict LGBT individuals and families as degenerate and unacceptable.

Over four hundred women held a rally in Tokyo on Sunday to show support for and discuss the United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women. Some women called on the Japanese government to use the national census surveys to draw more attention and re search to gender inequalities. Other women pointed to the recent rape of a twelve year-old Okinawan girl by three United States military servicemen as evidence of the need to reduce American’s military presence in Japan. And some professors claimed that teachers paid little attention to gender issues. The overall goal of the rally was to make the Beijing plan better known and realized throughout Japan.

Over 100 women’s groups, collectively represented by the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO), and comprised of over 6 million women launched a formal protest of the exclusion of women as moderators in the presidential and vice-presidential debates. According to a NCWO press release, the Council expressed its concerns regarding the lack of women in the debates in a letter to the Chair and Board of Directors of the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Dr. Martha Burk, Chair of the NCWO said, “Female moderators would bring a perspective and emphasis that is now totally lacking.” Dr. Jane Smith, CEO of the National Council of Negro Women, an NCWO member group, agreed, pointing out that candidates spoke about Social Security, but failed to mention the one group Social Security reform would affect most–women. Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, another NCWO member group, said, “We hear a lot about the gender gap in elections, but nobody’s talking about the gender gap in how the questions put to candidates are framed and presented. It’s never too late to remedy a gross injustice.”

A morning after pill known as Plan B, approved by the FDA in mid-1999, is now available to Washington state women who want to prevent pregnancy without visiting a doctor first. The pill is an emergency contraceptive that should be taken within 72 hours after intercourse. According to a special provision in Washington state’s law, Plan B can be sold in pharmacies without a physician’s prescription. Public health groups in California, Oregon and Alaska may be able to offer a similar opportunity to women under provisions in those states’ laws, as well.

The pill’s accessibility without a prescription could dramatically reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and could offer minors a feasible method of preventing pregnancy. Women’s Capital Corporation, directed by Dr. Sharon Camp, noted feminist authority on family planning, markets and distributes Plan B and intends to apply to the FDA for approval of over the counter sales of Plan B in 2001. In contrast to other emergency contraceptive measures that can result in nausea for a majority of women, Plan B’s side effects are minimal. Thirty thousand women in Washington state have received the pill so far.

During the second New York Senatorial debate between Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio, Clinton made clear her position on abortion rights and stressed the importance of a Congress, a President, and a Supreme Court that also supported this freedom. She brought up Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush’s support of Justices Scalia and Thomas, who support overturning Roe v. Wade. Clinton said she would never vote to confirm the appointment of judges who did not fully support a woman’s right to choose. And she reminded New Yorkers of the importance of having a voice in the Senate who could stand for women’s rights, event “if the wrong person is elected to president.”

Lazio, who voted for the abortion procedure ban or so called partial birth abortion bill, presented himself as a pro-choice candidate, claiming his record in the House proved him to be a supporter of a woman’s right to choose. In fact, according to NARAL, Lazio voted pro-choice only 61 percent of the time.

On October 7, 2000, the National Women’s Hall of Fame inducted 19 women into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Seneca Falls, New York, the birthplace of women’s rights and the location of the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848.

This year’s inductees include:

Faye Glenn Abdellah (1919 -) – the first woman nurse to hold the rank of Rear Admiral, two stars, and the title of Deputy Surgeon General, U.S. Emma Smith DeVoe (1848 – 1927) – the head organizer of the 1910 state campaign for the vote for women in Washington state.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890 – 1998) – founded the Friends of the Everglades.

Mary Barret Dyer (unknown – 1660) – defied the Puritan church authorities and helped establish the right to worship freely in the colonies. Sylvia Earle (1935 -) – founded and directs Deep Ocean Engineering. Crystal Eastman (1881 – 1928) – co-founded the ACLU.

Major General Jeanne Holm (Ret.) (1921 -) – first woman to achieve the rank of major general.

Bishop Leontine Kelly (1920 -) – first African-American woman bishop elected in any religious denomination.

Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsy (1914 -) – medical and pharmaceutical researcher who did not approve the use of thalidomide in the U.S.

Kate Mullany (1845 – 1906) – first woman to hold a national labor union office.

Janet Reno (1938 -) – first female Attorney General of the U.S.

Rev. Doctor Anna Howard Shaw (1847 – 1919) – first woman to win the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal in 1919.

Sophia Smith (1796 – 1870) founded Smith College in 1871.

Ida Tarbell (1857 – 1944) wrote The History of the Standard Oil Company, a book considered to be a landmark in “muckraking” journalism.

Brigadier General Wilma Vaught (Ret.) (1930 -) – helped in the building of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.

Mary Walker (1832 – 1919) – Civil War surgeon who was the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor in 1865.

Annie Dodge Wauneka (1910 – 1997) – first woman elected to the Navajo Tribal Council.

Eudora Welty (1909 -) – won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for her novel, The Optimist’s Daughter.

Frances Willard (1839 – 1898) – founded the World’s Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation revealed that only one-third of funds given to Atlanta Catholic Social Services for the resettlement of refugees in Atlanta are actually used to assist the refugees with housing, food, and other services. For each refugee, the US government provides the agency with $740. According to the Journal, the national office of the US Catholic Conference kept 24% of the funds and the Atlanta office kept the remaining 42%.

Criticism of Catholic Social Services came to light last week after it was revealed that new refugees in Atlanta had been placed in substandard housing. The Journal-Constitution reported that the apartments were infested with insects and rodents and crime-ridden. Refugees complained that the conditions at the Atlanta housing complex were worse than the impoverished conditions they left in their native countries. The Journal-Constitution also found that Catholic Support Services gave refugees virtually no assistance in finding jobs, arranging medical care, or assisting with immigration papers.

As a result of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s expose, 60 refugees were relocated from the dilapidated apartments to a hotel, two senior Catholic Social Services officials have resigned, and the United Way is reconsidering its support of the Catholic agency in Atlanta. Today’s Journal-Constitution reports that the US Catholic Conference has deployed representatives to Atlanta to review the situation. The U.S. Catholic Conference receives funds to resettle approximately one-third of the 85,000 refugees admitted to the U.S. each year.

In last night’s debate, Republican vice presidential nominee Richard Cheney masked the Republican Party Platform on abortion and gay and lesbian rights. Cheney would not directly answer a question regarding the recent FDA approval of mifepristone, a safe and effective method of early, non-surgical abortion. Cheney merely said that he felt the president would not have the authority to overturn the FDA’s decision. The Republican Platform supports a constitutional amendment to ban all abortions, along with legislation that would treat a fetus as a person under the law. The Democratic Platform supports the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and vows to protect choice “regardless of ability to pay.”

On gay rights, Cheney again masked the Republican Party’s stance, giving middle-of-the-road, unclear answers. He did not say whether he and Bush are for or against gay marriage or legalized “civil unions,” but called “official sanction” of same-sex relationships a “tougher problem.” The Republican Party Platform clearly states that it “support[s] the traditional definition of marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman,” while the Democratic Platform favors “equitable alignment of benefits” that would afford same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities under the law as married, heterosexual couples.

With candidates facing clear questions about abortion in the wake of the FDA’s recent approval of mifepristone, abortion has become a defining issue in this election. At the same time, the gender gap has widened to an unprecedented 19 points, with 59 percent of women favoring Gore, compared to 40 percent of men. 32 percent of women and 50 percent of men favor Bush. According to a recent Gallup/USA Today/CNN Poll, Gore’s lead among all voters has also widened significantly, with 51 percent of voters favoring the Democrat and only 40 percent favoring Bush.

Yesterday, Republicans in Congress removed provisions that would extend hate crimes status to violent crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation and disability from the defense authorization bill, eliminating any possibility that such protections would be codified by law in this legislative session. The language was added to the defense authorization bill after Republicans refused to consider the bill on its own. While the Senate voted 57-42 in favor of including hate crimes protection based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability, the House yesterday rejected the Senate’s provisions in a conference committee vote of 11-9, largely determined along party lines. Democrats in Congress stated that they will continue to fight for hate crimes protections.