Migration Category: news-1-5000-national

FDA Approval Marks Victory of Science Over Anti-abortion Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal called today’s FDA approval of mifepristone, formerly known as RU 486, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “a total victory for the U.S. women. At long last, science trumps anti-abortion politics and medical McCarthyism. If this medication was primarily for men, the French developers would already have received a Nobel Prize in medicine.”

Smeal continued, “Mifepristone will reframe the abortion debate by providing more and earlier access. By increasing the number and geographic spread of abortion availability, mifepristone will lead to a decrease in clinic violence and an increase in women’s privacy.”

Thank the FDA and the Clinton Administration for making this breakthrough drug available to women in the United States!

Feminist leaders, including Patricia Ireland, President of NOW; Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority; and Gail Shaffer, executive director of BPW and leading members of Congress including Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Connie Morella, Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), and Senstors Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Joseph Biden (D-DE), and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) held a press conference today urging a clean vote on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as a stand-alone bill. Rumors are rampant that Republican leaders want to attach VAWA as a “sweetener” to a bill that the President said he would veto. Smeal, Ireland, and Shaffer are demanding that Republican leaders not play “politics” with women’s lives. Immediately after the press conference, women leaders met with the chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS). Women leaders still do not have a commitment that VAWA will be scheduled for a vote on its own, and continue to demand that it come up for a vote as a stand-alone bill before it is scheduled to expire on September 30.

VAWA was reauthorized in the House yesterday with a vote of 415 to 3. Only three Republicans, Representatives Helen Chenoweth Hage (R-ID), John Hostettler (R-IN), and Mark Sanford Jr. (R-SC) voted against the bill. VAWA II will ensure that thousands of domestic violence shelters and prevention programs around the country stay open, and provide for a national domestic hotline that has received 142,000 calls per year since VAWA’s original passage in 1994. It will also expand the services provided in the 1994 version, adding a trust fund and immigrant coverage, as well as increasing the amount of funds made available to sexual assault and domestic violence prevention services. Republican leaders have been stalling a vote on VAWA’s reauthorization, despite bipartisan support for the legislation.

A recent report by the Human Rights Campaign indicated an increase in the number of American companies offering health insurance to the partners of their lesbian and gay employees. According to the report, 3,572 companies, colleges and state and local governments offered or have announced they would offer domestic partner coverage, up 25 percent from a year ago. Among Fortune 500 companies, the number offering domestic partner coverage increased from 70 in August of 1999 to 102 last month. This is despite the fact that no federal laws prohibiting discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people exist, and only 11 states have anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation. The increase, while significant, still represents only a fraction of the workplaces in the U.S.: in 1998, the Census Bureau counted 6.9 million workplaces.

On Sept. 25, the House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, a measure that would treat as a person under the law a fetus that is breathing when it leaves the womb, even if during an abortion procedure. The measure passed 380-15 but is unlikely to come to a vote in the Senate before the end of the session. Pro-choice activists call the bill an attempt to chip away at the rights women gained in the 1972 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Rosemary Dempsey, Washington DC Director of the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy called the bill “deceptive, extreme and unconstitutional.” She noted that “The bill proposes a definitional change to the entire United States Code, clouded in a deceptive scheme to denounce the principles guaranteed in Roe v. Wade and confirmed by the recent Stenberg v. Carhart Supreme Court decision.”

Abortion rights have been at the forefront of electoral politics this year, with 2-3 Supreme Court seats possibly vacant within the next presidency. Last night, on MTV’s “Choose or Lose” town hall program, Vice President Al Gore addressed the abortion issue when an audience member who described herself as “pro-life” asked Gore his views. “I support a woman’s right to choose,” Gore answered. He also called for more comprehensive sex education, saying that giving women education on the range of options open to them was essential. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation-MTV poll showed that 80 percent of young people favor comprehensive sex education and 51 percent favor abortion rights.

The House of Representatives passed an act reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act by an almost unanimous vote of 415Y to 3N. The House vote came after a concerted effort by women members of Congress and women’s rights groups, including the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Organization for Women, and Feminist Majority, to schedule House and Senate votes on the legislation. While support for the act was bi-partisan, Republican leaders have made the Act a political football and have refused until today to schedule the vote in the House and still have not agreed to schedule it in the Senate. Women’s rights groups are continuing to press for a Senate vote.

In a news conference yesterday, President Clinton urged passage of the bill. If passed, VAWA will provide over $3 billion over five years in funds to battle domestic violence and sexual assault. VAWA funds battered women’s shelters, special police sex crimes units and a national domestic violence hotline. The new bill would provide expanded services and resources. In the House debate, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) called VAWA “the most important legislation before Congress.” The right-wing Eagle Forum and Concerned Women of America have been lobbying against the Act, claiming that it is “anti-family.”

The latest film in the PBS independent non-fiction series P.O.V. (Point of View) airs tonight. Live Free or Die follows the life of Dr. Wayne Goldner, a Bedford, New Hampshire, obstetrician who provides surgical abortions as part of his practice. His decision ignites controversy, bringing anti-choice protestors to the small town and striking fear in Goldner’s family when they learn of the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian near Buffalo, NY. This film depicts the daily struggles doctors who provide abortion services must endure and their heroic efforts to keep abortions safe and legal.

Please check your local television listings for a program schedule, or visit PBS online at www.pbs.org.

In the first half of the Millennium Olympic Games, women athletes have broken world records, captured countless medals and participated in the debut of many events, previously open only to men. US women athletes are taking their place in Olympic history along with their international competitors. Stacy Dragila, pole vault world champion and record holder, became the first woman ever to receive a gold medal in this event with her 15 foot, one inch vault on her first attempt.

Women’s water polo also debuted in the 2000 Olympics, giving water polo veterans like Maureen O’Toole (US) a chance to compete for the most coveted athletic prize. With just 1.3 seconds left in the final match against the Australian team, the US faltered and let the Aussie’s final shot at the goal slip past the defense for the game winning point. The Australian’s gold, American’s silver and the Russian’s bronze medals are the first ever awarded in the history of women’s water polo. Sprinter Marion Jones is on her way to quintuple gold, a never before achieved goal for a woman track and field athlete, with her 10.75 second 100-meter sprint to win the gold. Diver Laura Wilkinson came from 8th place to win the gold on the 10-meter platform„the first gold for the US in this event since 1964. The US women’s softball team came roaring back from a three game losing streak to win the gold in a 2-1 victory over Japan. The US women’s soccer team is also on their way to a gold medal game after beating Brazil 1-0. They will play Norway in the final match, a team they beat 2-0 in the opening round. Tennis sensation Venus Williams is continuing her 31-match winning streak, beating teammate Monica Seles. Venus will play Russia’s Elena Dementieva for the gold. Venus, and her sister Serena have advanced to the semifinals in women’s tennis doubles.

Books that positively depicted gay parents were returned to the shelves in the children’s section of Wichita, Texas public libraries last week after a federal judge struck down a local censorship law. The city ordinance allowed library cardholders to petition to move any children’s book in the public library to the adult section. Both Heather Has Two Mommies, a story about a girl with lesbian parents who learns about her conception and birth, and Daddy’s Roommate, the tale of a boy with divorced parents who meets his father’s gay boyfriend for the first time, were relocated to the adult section after members of the First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls solicited petitions. The Church’s original intention was to remove “any literature that promotes or sanctions a homosexual lifestyle.” Judgy Jerry Buchmeyer called the ordinance an unconstitutional burden on free speech. The case, argued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was brought on behalf of 19 individuals, including three children, who opposed the censorship law.

Confirming the arguments of many pro-choice activists, a recent report issued by Political Research Associates analyzes the tactics and membership of the antiabortion movement, concluding that it has attacked “nothing less than women’s autonomy.” The article notes that the antiabortion movement is largely made up of conservative Christians, as well as members of the politically influential “Christian Right,” and mentions various groups, including Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition, Operation Rescue, and the National Right to Life Committee. Antiabortion activists have successfully framed the abortion debate, the report confirms, with manipulative language and images, presenting abortion as an issue of morality and often equating it with murder. Using the term “baby” rather than “fetus” is an example of their misleading tactics. The report also acknowledges the antiabortion movement’s race-based distinctions: when focusing on reproductive freedom in a broad sense, the antiabortion movement stresses that white, upper-class women should bear children and stay home, while lower-class women and women of color should work outside the home and limit childbearing.

A four-month trial conducted by the University of Edinburgh reveals promising results for the use of mifepristone as a contraceptive. Professor David Baird, faculty in the department of reproductive and developmental sciences, said mifepristone was 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, and showed no major side effects for the 90 women in the trial. Mifepristone worked as a contraceptive by preventing ovulation. Its use as a contraceptive has been speculated since the early 1990s, and Baird is calling for a larger trial, conducted by a drug manufacturer, to further explore this option.

Early articles on mifepristone note that a continuous low dose of mifepristone, like the dose administered in the Edinburgh University trials, does not interfere with estrogen levels, and so does not put women at an increased risk of early osteoporosis.

An FDA decision on mifepristone approval is expected by September 30. For 12 years, the Feminist Majority Foundation has been leading a campaign to make mifepristone available in the U.S. Take Action by telling the Food and Drug Administration and President Clinton that American women will not wait any longer for this reproductive right!

Essex County, Pennsylvania Judge Anthony J. Iuliani denied an application for a change of name to Jill Bacharach because she is a lesbian. Bacharach applied for a name change to include the last name of her life partner, testifying in her hearing that she considers her same sex partner to be family, and wanted her name to reflect that relationship. Judge Iuliani refused, fearing the name change would imply that the couple were married. A staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that New Jersey courts routinely grant name changes, and that the law allows for few legitimate reasons to refuse an application„among them attempts to evade prosecution or debt. The ACLU filed an appeal in the case with the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division.

The North Penn School District may establish a supposedly “hands-off” policy toward teen pregnancy that would curtail the ability of students to obtain information on abortion options. The District is drafting a directive that would require counselors and teachers, when discussing pregnancy with a student, to focus solely on continuing students’ education. While the policy does not contain the word “abortion,” the policy is clearly intended to comply with Pennsylvania’s parental consent law, which requires women under the age of 18 to obtain the consent of one parent before getting an abortion. North Penn Board Members say their decision was catalyzed by last year’s Hatboro-Horsham School District Case, where the school settled out of court with parents who said a high school counselor helped their 16-year-old daughter obtain an abortion in New Jersey. Abortion rights activists oppose the policy, noting that it places barriers on young women’s rights to learn their options and to obtain necessary medical care. Studies have found that 85 percent of teens would not seek care for reproductive needs if required to have parental consent. In 1988, for exampel, Becky Bell was the first woman to die as a result of parental consent laws, when she sought an illegal abortion and died from a massive infection that could have been prevented.

In the race between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rick Lazio for the New York Senate, Clinton has pulled ahead 48 percent to Lazio’s 39 percent. The lead widens even more„51 percent to 41 percent„when undecided voters were urged to say which way they were leaning. The gender gap has also widened to 9 points in this race with 52 percent of women favoring Hillary Rodham Clinton compared to only 43 percent of men. The gap is even wider in the suburbs: 54 percent of suburban women chose Clinton compared to 34 percent of suburban men„a huge 20 point gender gap. Up until recently, Lazio had a firm hold on the suburban women’s vote„43 percent to Clinton’s 36 percent„but a debate between the two candidates produced a significant shift away from Lazio. Women voters considered Lazio to be aggressive, immature and inexperienced next to a poised and professional Clinton. Both women (51 percent) and men (43 percent) agreed Clinton won the debate.

The Taliban is in New York this week demanding acceptance into the United Nations. The terrorist regime, which invaded Afghanistan’s largest cities and controls 90 percent of the country, wants the UN to recognize the Taliban as the country’s official government. The Afghanistan seat is currently held by the Rabbani government, which was in power before the Taliban militia’s military takeover. Feminist groups oppose recognition of the Taliban by the United States and UN because of the regime’s abhorrent treatment of women and girls and widespread human rights violations. The Feminist Majority Foundation leads to US-based Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan.

You have an opportunity to Take Action and urge President Clinton and the United Nations not to recognize the Taliban and to restore women’s human rights in Afghanistan.

The efforts of gay and lesbian activist groups are paying off in the fight to put Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s television show out of business and off the air. Protestors of the “Dr. Laura” show pressured marketers and sponsors of the show to pull out their support because of Dr. Laura’s anti-gay remarks during her radio program. In addition to fleeing sponsors, the “Dr. Laura” show can’t seem to hold an audience. The show’s ratings are extremely low, 15 to 28 percent lower than the shows that air just before “Dr. Laura,” and 12 to 28 percent lower than shows that aired in the same time slot in previous seasons. Conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh experienced a similarly weak response from viewers during his short-lived transition from radio to television.

Click Here to Participate in the Debate! Today at 12:30pm, ABC’s Sam Donaldson will host a live online debate between Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal and Republican Congressman Tom Coburn on the possible FDA approval of the “abortion pill” Mifepristone, also known as RU-486.

Mifepristone is a safe, non-surgical method of early abortion. It has been used successfully by over 200,000 women worldwide as a method of early abortion, and may be a possible treatment for fibroid tumors, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, meningioma, and some types of breast cancer. Learn More about Medical Abortion.

Eleanor Smeal and the Feminist Majority Foundation have worked for over 12 years to bring this method of early abortion and possible terminal disease treatment to the United States through the Campaign for RU 486 and Contraceptive Research. Learn More about the Campaign.

Please join us today at 12:30pm to let the American public know how important access to this medical breakthrough is for US women!

Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, met with Taliban officials over the weekend and used most of her time to pressure the terrorist regime to revoke its draconian policies toward women and girls. Ogata, the highest ranking U.N. official to meet with the Taliban, told the officials that their anti-woman edicts contributed to the delay in refugees’ return to the region, ending her previous silence on the issue of women’s rights under the Taliban.

In response to Ogata’s statement that their treatment of women and girls was troubling to the international community, the Taliban argued that it was “conservative Afghan tradition” that kept them from expanding women’s rights– this despite the fact that these bans were never a part of Afghan tradition. Before the Taliban took power in 1996, women were 50 percent of the students and 60 percent of the teachers at Kabul University.

The officials guided Ogata on tours of the Herat region, showing her newly-opened home schools and a nursing college for women. These facilities are not representative of the situation for Afghan women under the Taliban, however, as formal schools are closed to girls and women and home schools, which also violate the education ban, are run at great risk to teachers.

Governor Khairkhwa of Herat, considered relatively progressive among the Taliban, compared women to dogs to explain Taliban’s attitude toward women: most Afghans despise dogs, but will treat them well if they obey commands.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council and the U.S. Department of Justice have agreed to enter into a consent decree, mandating a series of reform measures for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), in the wake of an evolving scandal surrounding brutality charges, among other alleged offenses. The proposed consent decree includes a provision for the collection of data on the race of people subjected to vehicle and pedestrian stops and provides for an independent monitor to ensure that the agreed-upon reforms are put in place. “The consent decree contains many strong provisions addressing police brutality and corruption,” said Katherine Spillar, National Coordinator of the Feminist Majority Foundation. “However, the City Council and the Department of Justice failed to incorporate a gender-balance hiring requirement that would have dramatically reduced police brutality as more women were hired into the force.” On Monday, the Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Center for Women and Policing (NCWP) issued a report on police brutality documenting a huge gender difference in police brutality lawsuits. The report found that male officers in the LAPD are involved in excessive force and misconduct lawsuits at rates substantially higher than their female counterparts.

“The consent decree unfortunately also failed to include provisions for outside oversight of the LAPD system of investigating and prosecuting police officers involved in domestic violence incidents,” Spillar noted. The LAPD has a history of failure to properly prosecute officers who engage in domestic violence. Studies have shown that up to 40 percent of male law enforcement officers commit domestic violence abuse themselves.

Read the NCWP Report on Police Brutality and Gender

Lieutenant Steve May, an Army Reserve officer with a spotless record could be the next casualty in the Army’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy. Lt. May was honorably discharged in 1995, but was recalled to the Army Reserve during the fighting in Kosovo. In the interim, Lt. May ran for office and was open about his sexuality. Lt. May also spoke about being gay during a 1999 debate on a bill that would have prevented gay government employees’ partners from receiving benefits. Initially, the Army sought a “less-than-honorable” general discharge for May, but top ranking Army officials proposed an honorable discharge for May„a typical course of action for soldiers forced to leave the Army because of sexuality. May plans to appeal the discharge recommendation and will continue to serve during the entire process.

A Nike commercial depicting a chainsaw-wielding maniac chasing a woman was yanked from NBC’s advertising lineup after more than 2,000 people called the network to object to the violence against women that the commercial portrayed. Nike paid to advertise during NBC’s prime time Olympic coverage„a time when a substantial number of women and children comprise the audience. Nike spokesperson Scott Reams said the commercial was designed to appeal to younger people who tend to flock to popular horror movies such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, but with a more diverse audience watching the Olympics, Nike’s ad was not well placed or well received. Nike is also running the ad on ESPN, a network whose typical audience is male. ESPN has not received any complaints about the violent commercial. The Feminist Majority Foundation, however, did receive calls from people voicing their concern and objecting to the Nike ad.