Migration Category: news-1-5000-national

US women are racking up the medals in the 2000 Olympics. In only three days of competition, the United States has won 18 medals–more than any other country at the games„half of those medals belong to women athletes. Women on the US team have also secured more gold medals, totaling 4, to men’s 3.

Tennis superstar Venus Williams wore down Henrietta Nagyova of Slovakia in her first Olympic match. Women’s water polo hit a bump in the road with a loss to Australia, but their sites are still set on gold. The 1996 Gold medal winning US women’s softball team has lost only one game thus far, losing to in an 11-inning, 2-1 game against Japan. This loss broke the US team’s 112 game winning streak.

Despite the fact that women athletes are reaching new ground in Olympic sport, television ratings of the Games is unexpectedly low. NBC projected network ratings to fall 20 percent during the coverage of the Games, speculating that the time delay and taped coverage would not bring in viewers as the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta did. However, after three nights of coverage, NBC experienced a ratings drop of 32 percent.

Network analysts attribute the low ratings to lackluster coverage and disappointment in athletes’ performances. Few of the American athletes who were projected to win big have done so. Usually, strong finishes in gymnastics brings audiences in initially, but the US women’s and men’s gymnastics teams have both faltered, placing fourth and fifth, respectively, in all around team competitions.

With police abuse cases grabbing headlines nationwide, a new study released by the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Center for Women & Policing documents huge gender differences in the cost of police brutality and misconduct as a result of civil liability lawsuits. The study shows male officers in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) are involved in excessive force and misconduct lawsuits at rates substantially higher than their female counterparts. These lawsuits resulted in the City of Los Angeles paying out $63.4 million in lawsuits involving male officers for use of excessive force, compared to $2.8 million paid out for suits involving females officers and excessive force.

The new study confirms earlier research both in the United States and internationally that shows women police officers rely less on physical force and more on verbal skills in handling altercations than male police officers. As a result, women police officers are less likely to become involved in problems with excessive force and are better at defusing potentially violent confrontations with citizens.

Read the Feminist Majority Foundation’s September 18, 2000 press release.

United Nations (UN) officials fear that the Taliban’s ban on women working with international aid organizations may bring an end to aid programs in the region. Stephanie Bunker, spokesperson for the UN office for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, stated that, while the UN “respects the principles and culture” of Afghanitan, they view the ban on working women as a “stumbling block” that seriously impares the ability of the UN to provide assistance. The UN and the World Food Programme have urged the Taliban to lift their ban on women working for aid organizations, and suggest that women supervise programs intended to benefit women, to monitor the aid and assure that services are reaching the population.

The Taliban’s bans on education, work and mobility for women have no basis in Afghan culture. Before the Taliban took power, women were 50 percent of the students and 60 percent of the teachers at Kabul University, and 70 percent of school teachers, 50 percent of civilian government workers, and 40 percent of doctors in Kabul were women.

Vice President Al Gore urged for passage of legislation to increase protections for women under HMOs. The Democratic presidential candidate recently spoke at a women’s health event at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, calling for action on legislation currently stalled in Congress that targets women’s health issues, requiring better coverage under managed-care insurance plans. The legislation would force HMOs to cover mastectomies, set minimum hospital stays, prohibits punishing doctors who make referrals for second opinions, and requires coverage for specialists in ob-gyn.

American women have earned medals in swimming, shooting, and weightlifting at the Sydney Olympics to date. Highlights from this weekend’s competitions include the major victory for the U.S. Women’s Swimming Team, grabbing the Gold Medal in the 4X100 m Free Relay and breaking a world record. Teammates Jenny Thompson, Amy Van Dyken, Dara Torres, and Courtney Sheely won the race in three minutes–36.61 seconds faster than the 1994 world record set by China. Torres, 33 and returning to the Olympics after a seven-year retirement, also earned the Bronze Medal in the Women’s 100 m Butterfly.

Tara Nott, former U.S. Olympic soccer player and gymnast, won a Silver Medal in the Women’s 48 kg Weightlifting competition. She began training for weightlifting in 1996. The 2000 games marks the first time that women have competed in this sport. Nott’s medal is the first U.S. weightlifting medal since 1984.

Track U.S. Women’s Medals at the Sydney Olympics!

Tori-Lynn Heaton, a Rhode Island police officer, will testify against Joseph Fillion, her husband–a police officer who is charged with 12 counts of domestic violence. Jury selection began earlier this week, and the case will be heard in the Superior Court, Providence. Fillion also faces the felony charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. The case centers around 12 incidents of domestic violence allegedly perpetrated by Fillion against Heaton in 1998. Heaton spoke at FMF’s National Center for Women & Policing annual conference in March about police family violence, and vowed to speak out on the issue. Studies have shown that up to 40 percent of male law enforcement officers commit domestic violence abuse themselves.

Read the most recent Status of Women in Policing Report.

The 1996 gold medal winning U.S. women s soccer team, led by Olympic veterans Tiffeny Milbrett and Mia Hamm, crashed onto the Olympic scene with a 2-0 shutout over Norway on Thursday night. The Norwegians had been the U.S. team’s greatest challenge, beating the Americans in three matches earlier this year. The U.S. team dominated quickly with Milbret scoring easily in the 18th minute. Hamm, the world’s leading scorer, drove in the second goal in the 24th minute. The shot was Hamm’s 126th international goal the most ever scored by a woman or a man. The women s next match up is China on Sunday, and then Nigeria on Wednesday. China beat Nigeria, 3-1, on Thursday giving China a #1 ranking. The U.S. women’s team is currently ranked #2 in their division.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has handed down another defeat for anti-abortion extremists who have attempted to challenge a law meant to protect access to abortion clinics. Meredith Raney, an anti-choice activist in Florida, had filed a lawsuit in Orlando against the Aware Woman clinic, claiming that his activities as a pro-life “sidewalk counselor” in front of abortion clinics was protected under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE). In fact, the 1994 federal law was passed with the intention of protecting clinics and clinic staff from anti-abortion violence and makes it a federal violation to use force, threat of force, or intimidation against a person attempting to obtain or provide reproductive health services. The Atlanta court rejected Raney’s argument that his activities were protected because it was clear he was not seeking or providing reproductive health services. Raney has moved for a rehearing before a full court and, should that court uphold the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, it is possible that Raney may appeal his case to the US Supreme Court. Similar cases filed by anti-abortion extremists are pending in several other cities across the country.

By 232-192, the House of Representatives voted in a non-binding resolution to instruct the House-Senate Defense Authorization Conference Committee to include language expanding the Hate Crimes Act in the joint defense authorization legislation. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) had successfully added the Hate Crimes provision that would expand the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation, gender and disability to the Senate version of the Defense Authorization Act. Currently, the Hate Crimes Act covers only religious affiliation, national origin, and race and limits coverage to a federal nexus such as voting. In addition to including gender, sexual orientation, and disability, the new language expands coverage for all hate crimes. The House resolution, sponsored by Representative John Conyers (D-MI), passed yesterday, September 13, after speeches by Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Sheila Jackson Lee, Julia Carson, Nita Lowey, John Lewis and Barney Frank in support of the Hate Crimes provision. Among the 232 House members who supported the Conyers resolution were 190 Democrats, 41 Republicans, and 1 Independent. President Clinton spoke at a press conference at the time of the vote urging passage of the Hate Crimes Act and reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Visit www.hrc.org to Take Action on this issue!

In addition to the possible appointment of several U.S. Supreme Court justices, the next president will have far-reaching effects on abortion policy in this country. The next president could issue executive orders regarding the availability of abortion counseling at family planning clinics that receive federal funds and could potentially influence enforcement of federal laws protecting access to abortion clinics. According to the LA Times, the next president – as well as the current Administration – will have the ability to shape the availability and distribution of mifepristone in the United States.

By September 30, the FDA, under the Clinton Administration, is expected to rule on approval of mifepristone. Although it would be difficult for the next president to easily reverse a decision by the FDA to approve RU-486, he could severely limit or tighten the rules by which it would be distributed. Under the administration of President George Bush the drug was barred from import into the United States for personal use. Since Clinton’s election in 1992, his Administration has taken steps to make mifepristone available. In his first days in office, Clinton issued an Executive Order encouraging forward movement on mifepristone. In September of 1996 and February of 2000, the FDA issued “approveable letters” on the medication, ruling that it is safe and effective and asking for additional information on manufacturing and labeling.

Governor Bush, like his father, opposes the sale and use of RU-486 while Vice President Gore has said he supports a woman’s right to choose. Some experts speculate that if Bush is elected his Administration might take steps to interfere with distribution and even without scientific evidence raise questions about mifepristone safety, despite its long record of success.

Urge FDA Approval of Mifepristone without Unnecessary Restrictions.

With the presidential election only 56 days away, organizers with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) are hitting the pavement and getting senior citizens registered to vote. “Statistics show that senior voter drop-off is often attributed to challenges in actually getting to the polling places,” said NCPSSM Community Outreach Services Director John Glaser. The senior vote, an influential bloc in presidential elections, is important in the effort to preserve Medicare and keeping Social Security from becoming privatized. Currently, 60 percent of Social Security beneficiaries are women, and 25 percent of elderly women who live alone depend on Social Security as their only source of income. Privatizing Social Security, a plan initiated by Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, would be particularly harmful to women. Women typically earn less and live longer than men; these factors in combination would mean less money set aside for a private Social Security and a larger share of administrative fees that would cut into the account.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) will expire on Sept. 30 unless it is brought to a vote on the House floor. Currently, congressional gridlock and partisan politics are holding back the reauthorization bill for VAWA.

Enacted in 1994, VAWA provides federal funding for state and local programs to combat violence against women, including, funding for special police units focused on sex crimes. The reauthorization bill would expand past efforts, adding funding for transitional housing for women and children, for example.

Although the bill has bipartisan support, Republican leaders have not prioritized VAWA, and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO) and other Democrats are pushing for a floor vote on the bill, delcaring violence against women an “epidemic problem.” The Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM), the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and the House Commerce Committee are among those holding the bill back, claiming the reauthorization process has interfered with their jurisdictional authority.

After defeating Dr. Mark McMahon five to one in yesterday’s Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton will forge ahead in her Senate race against Republican Representative Rick Lazio with a debate this evening. The debate will air live in New York at 7 PM on NBC, and will be nationally televised at 10 PM EST on MSNBC.

Recent polls suggest that Clinton is leading on the issues, with likely voters who feel that a candidate’s position on the issues is crucial favoring Clinton 52-42 percent.

Recently, an informal coalition of college coaches lobbied Congress to weaken the guidelines that schools use to measure their compliance with Title IX, part of the 1972 Educational Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bars discrimination against women in sports programs. In recent years, male athletes have brought suits against Title IX, faulting the law aimed at gender equity with eliminating opportunities for men in sports. Coaches are opposed to the laws “proportionality” guideline which considers schools in compliance if they have the same ratio of female athletes as female students, and want to drop this measure. Male athletes at Brown University, Illinois State University, and California State University at Bakersfield sued their schools, arguing that men’s teams were cut because of Title IX. The Supreme Court rejected Brown’s case.

Women’s sports still receive less than 1/3 of the operating costs that men’s sports receive on the university level, and the recruiting budget for women’s sports is only 30% of the recruiting budget for male sports.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in an appeal by anti-abortion extremists to overturn the 1999 verdict in Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette v. American Coalition of Life Activists et al (ACLA). This is the Oregon case where doctors and clinics proved the ACLA’s “Deadly Dozen” and “WANTED” posters as well as the “Nuremberg Files” website were a “true threat” to abortion providers. These leaflets, posters and website listings provided detailed information on doctors and abortion clinics, offered rewards for preventing abortions, identified abortion providers as “baby butchers” and war criminals and highlighted the names of doctors who had been injured or murdered in recent years. Due to the specific nature of the threats and the fact that it was occurring during a time of increased violence against abortion providers, the “Nuremberg Files” was taken off the Internet and defendants were ordered to pay $107.5 million in damages to the group of abortion providers who were victims of the threats. To date, none of the money has been paid and six of the defendants have filed for bankruptcy in efforts to escape paying.

The House of Representatives could vote as early as this evening on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, renamed the Local Law Enforcement Act of 2000 as an amendment to the Defense Department’s authorization bill (HR4205/S 2549). Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will present a “Motion to Instruct’ which directs the House to accept the bill and its language, which was passed by the Senate. If the House accepts the bill, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act will become law. To ensure that this action is a success, please TAKE ACTION and fax your Representative today. Tell them to support the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and accept the Senate-passed version today.

The National Abortion Federation (NAF) and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) have struck a deal to allow NAF to advertise pro-choice public service announcements on Atlanta subway and bus stations. MARTA had initially banned the ads as too controversial, but a federal judge ruled that MARTA was violating the First Amendment because the transit authority’s reason for rejecting the ad was too vague and MARTA had permitted other public-issue advertising.

The ads will run for three months, after which, MARTA officials have decided not to allow any non-commercial advertising. In December of 1998, the Pro-Choice Public Education Policy (PEP) launched a similar campaign in New York City aimed at young women between the ages of 16 and 25 who are pro-choice.

Gay rights supporters across the country are protesting today’s premiere of “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger’s television talk show. Schlessinger has repeatedly aired her view that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are “deviant” and “a biological error.” The Stop Dr. Laura coalition has called for a boycott of the show, urging concerned activists to take action by pressuring Paramount Studios to stop producing the show, and calling for corporate sponsors to revoke their advertisements. Protests have been successful, as over two dozen sponsors have pulled their ads since April. Companies that have dropped Dr. Laura include Proctor & Gamble, RadioShack, Priceline.com, Gateway, Sears, and Xerox. Groups will hold demonstrations today at various local TV stations across the country that have agreed to carry the show.

According to Dr. Laura’s website, the mission of her show is “to dispense morals, values, principles and ethics.” Paramount, owned by Viacom corporation, released a statement in support of the Dr. Laura TV show, saying “we are committed to presenting society’s moral and ethical issues without creating or contributing to an environment or hurt, hate, or intolerance.” Schlessinger holds a BA in biological science and a PhD in physiology.

Visit www.stopdrlaura.com to Take Action on this issue.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that a recently developed testosterone patch could improve sexual functioning and pleasure in women who have undergone hysterectomies or oophorectomies. Dr. Jan Shifren and her team reported “significantly greater” levels of sexual activity and pleasure in women who used the testosterone patch, which administers natural daily levels of the hormone. No negative side effects were reported, although other scientists have called for further study, saying that Shifren’s study did not factor in additional variables, such as the use of antidepressants, which can contribute to sexual dysfunction in women.

A recent Washington Post poll suggests that the gender gap will prove key in the Virginia Senate election this year, with 49 percent of women favoring Democratic candidate Charles Robb and 37 percent favoring Republican George Allen. Among men, 42 percent favored Robb and 56 percent favored Allen. Many of the women polled stated that they want to hear more from both candidates on issues they consider important to their choice: pay equity, day care, hate crimes, and domestic abuse. On the issues, women ranked social security, health care, abortion, and gun control high on their priorities list. The wide gender gap on gun control could help Robb, with 57 percent of women favoring gun control laws.