Two months ago, Vermont became the first state to pass a civil union bill granting gay couples the most comprehensive package of domestic partner benefits in the nation. The law was soon challenged, but to no avail.
Yesterday, an injunction to stop ‘gay marriages’ was struck down by Superior Court Judge Stephen Martin. Gay and lesbian couples are expected to seek civil union licenses during the upcoming holiday weekend.
Bumping heads with anti-abortion supporters, the American Heart Association (AHA) voted yesterday to back embryonic stem-cell research, which AHA called “the most promising medical and scientific research” to combat heart disease and stroke. According to the Associated Press, AHA officials believe that stem-cell research could shed light on possible treatments and cures for heart disease, strokes and other cardiovascular ailments which affect 128 million Americans. The federal government currently forbids the funding of any medical research that uses fetal tissue.
The Feminist Majority Foundation applauds the move by the American Heart Association to advance research on stem-cells. “The possible benefits to both heart and stroke victims, as well as people suffering from cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and spinal cord injuries, show the tragic consequences of the anti-abortion efforts to impede stem-cell research,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation. Science, not politics, should consistently rule in possible medical breakthroughs.
Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) will introduce beefed up legislation for the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA). The new plan would authorize $645 million a year, up significantly from the current $266 million budget, for continuing and expanding current programs aimed at helping women.
This proposed legislation comes after a harsh blow women received recently from the Supreme Court. Just this past May, the Court narrowly ruled against women victims of gender-based violence. In Bronzkala v. Morrison, the Supreme Court declared that Congress did not have the authority to pass the civil remedy of VAWA, thereby forbidding Christy Bronzkala from pursuing her federal lawsuit for monetary damages against her accused attackers.
Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, has experienced immense growth in the last 10 years, but it has also become the site of the brutal raping and killing of over 200 young women and girls, as young as 12 years old-all workers in the city’s maquiladoras, mostly U.S. assembly plants and factories. Since 1993, young women and girls in Ciudad Juarez have been raped, strangled, crushed, and abandoned in vacant lots; most of the murders are unsolved and poorly investigated.
Manufacturing in Ciudad Juarez flourished following the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which brought over 200 American companies to the border town in search of cheap wage labor-about 40 cents per hour. According to the Washington Post, there are now over 3,000 factories in Juarez, and all take advantage of “low labor costs, no independent unions and no requirements to meet U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.” In addition, these companies, including big American brand names like Ford, Motorola, and General Electric, do not provide adequate transportation from the city’s industrial complex to the workers’ residences-mostly squatter settlements made up of shacks fashioned out of discarded scrapwood and cardboard from the maquilas.
The Feminist Majority Foundation has spoken out on this issue, meeting with the Secretary of Commerce, urging pressure against the industrial leaders. Thus far, little change has been made. Women still walk home on unpaved roads with poor or no lighting, and fall victim to attackers. And the feminist movement in Juarez, led by Esther Chavez, has tried to bring attention to this deplorable situation. Chavez was a speaker at Feminist Expo 2000.
The Washington Post this Sunday and today featured a story about one particular maquila worker, 12-year-old Irma Angelica Rosales, who was murdered in broad daylight after leaving a factory that manufactures wiring for General Electric, Amana, Frigidaire, and Maytag. She traveled to Juarez with many dreams: she wanted to wear “city” clothes, earn her own money, help her parents financially, and become more independent. Her death has implicated local bus drivers, a group of whom confessed to killing Rosales. The Washington Post also reports that a recent meeting of industrial leaders resulted in a resolution to install more street lamps, among other safety measures.
The California-based organization Children Requiring A Caring Kommunity (CRACK) announced its plans to operate in the Washington, D.C. area. The highly controversial program offers $200 cash to drug-addicts who will seek “long-term birth control.” Options include Norplant and the Intra-uterine device, although CRACK reports that half of the addicts who have claimed their $200 have undergone tubal ligations.
CRACK is financially and politically supported by conservative leaders including the inflammatory and anti-gay Dr. Laura Schlessinger. The program’s alleged mission is to “offer effective preventive measures to reduce the tragedy of numerous drug affected pregnancies” (www.cashforbirthcontrol.com), but it has been criticized by many as “racist and dehumanizing,” says the Post. DC’s health department deputy director in charge of substance abuse services Larry Siegel questioned the ethics of the program, noting that it capitalizes on addicts’ need for cash and effectively coerces them into a life-altering decision. He also noted that the DC ad campaign, which will include Metro bus ads partially funded by tax dollars, will disproportionately target African Americans.
CRACK focuses on the statistics regarding drug-addicted infants, calling its program of cash-for-birth-control a legitimate means of reducing the number of infants born with drug addiction, HIV, and developmental and emotional disorders. But Bill McColl, Executive Director of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors pointed out in an interview with the Washington Post that $200 would cover over a week of long-term care in a residential drug rehabilitation facility. Helping women overcome their drug addiction, he and other opponents of CRACK’s program assert, is the long-term and ethical solution.
New York Republican Senate candidate Rick Lazio accused Hilary Rodham Clinton of using her political influence to initiate and expose a Securities and Exchange Commission probe of a 1997 securities deal from which he profited. Executives from Quick and Reilly, the brokerage firm involved, were some of Lazio’s congressional campaign contributors. Lazio, says the Washington Post, purchased stock options in Quick and Reilly and then sold them at a great profit on the same day the firm was bought out by a larger company. Lazio has denied any misconduct in the incident.
Scientists are testing a new vaccine that will aid in preventing the development of cervical cancer in women. Caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), cervical cancer annually infects more than half a million women globally, 200,000 of whom do not survive. It is the second largest cancer killer among women.
Dr. Daron Ferris, who is conducting the tests in the U.S., said “If the vaccine is successful, then we would want to vaccinate the population and that would include vaccinating school-age children at approximately 12 years of age, before individuals become sexually active. Since this is a sexually acquired infection, it would also make sense to vaccinate boys.”
The vaccine is targeted to work against the most common type of HPV by creating virus-like particles from protein on the outside of the virus. It deceives the body’s immune system into thinking that the virus is attacking it, therefore initiating an immune response.
Scientists believe that eventually, the need for the Pap smear test, which detects pre-cancerous cells on the surface of the cervix, would diminish.
British pathologist, Margaret Stanely, commented that “This work is tremendously exciting and an extremely important development in the fight against a disease that kills so many women in this country and throughout the world.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s New York senatorial campaign unleashed two new television spots that attacked her opponent Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) for his stance on abortion. Lazio opposes Medicaid-funded abortions for low-income women. In both 30-second ads former New York City Mayor Ed Koch speaks out against Lazio’s position on abortion. “He’s not really pro-choice because he won’t support funding abortion for poor women, which I support and Hillary supports,” Koch frankly reveals to New York City residents.
Lazio’s camp immediately criticized Koch for his outspokenness on the issue and his attack on Lazio when Koch himself opposes “partial-birth” abortions. The Lazio campaign claims to hold “mainstream New York positions,” says Lazio spokesperson Dan McLagan. But in fact, New York is one of 14 states that pays for Medicaid-funded abortions.
Ending a 12-year decline, incidences of gonorrhea rose nine percent in 1998. Although a single digit rise may seem insignificant, prior to 1998 the rate had fallen 64 percent between 1985 and 1997. Why the sudden rise in cases? Speculation points to an increase in complacency leading to a rise in unprotected sex. “There does seem to be some real increases in the overall number of gonorrhea cases due to unsafe sexual behavior,” said CDC epidemiologist Debra Mosure.
More than two-thirds of respondents polled in the Los Angeles Times poll, released earlier this week, believe the decision to obtain an abortion should be left between a woman and her doctor. The same nationwide poll told us that more than half of Americans are unclear on both presidential candidates’ stances on abortion. Today, the Washington Post revealed how the Bush campaign has strategically and quite successfully kept the abortion issue at bay within the Republican party. Unlike 1996, so far the Republican platform debate on abortion does not appear to be divisive. Bush is making a concerted effort to be friendly to abortion-rights advocates within the Republican party and even allowing them equal access to strategic meetings. The strategy seems to be working because although he has a strong anti-abortion position, Ralph Reed serves as a consultant and Pat Robertson as a supporter, the public still does not know his anti-abortion position. Pat Buchanan’s exit from the Republican party seems to provide for Bush a more moderate appearance.
The LA Times joined other major newspapers in urging immediate FDA approval of mifepristone without unnecessary restrictions. Criticizing the FDA’s consideration of restrictions that would limit availability of mifepristone as a method of early abortion, the LA Times editorial urges “Science should govern the FDA’s decisions on RU 486. There should be no more waffling.” The FDA restrictions which are currently under discussion would severely limit which doctors could provide the pill. These restrictions are unprecedented and have no medical justification. The editorial stresses the importance of mifepristone to expanding abortion access and curtailing clinic violence. In recent weeks, the New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer and other news outlets have expressed support for mifepristone and opposition to obstacles to its availability in the United States.
Republican Tom Coburn (R-OK) is expected to propose an amendment to the 2001 Agriculture Appropriations bill that will prohibit the FDA from approving drugs that induce abortion, which could adversely affect the mifepristone approval process. The Coburn amendment, if passed, will prohibit the FDA from using government funds to test, develop or approve any drug for the chemical inducement of abortion. Mifepristone, also referred to as RU-486, is a safe and effective alternative to surgical abortion that has been used by millions of women in Europe, China, and other parts of the world. The drug also shows promise as a treatment for endometriosis and various forms of cancer primarily affecting women. In 1996 the FDA found mifepristone to be a safe and effective method of early abortion. The drug is currently in the final stages of approval at the FDA, with action expected by September 30, 2000. TAKE ACTION NOW against the Coburn Amendment.
Dr. Lucy H. Spelman was recently named director of the National Zoo, making her the first woman and youngest person to hold the prestigious job. As director, Spelman joins the ranks of only a handful of women in the United States to head major zoos. Having previously served as chief veterinarian at the National Zoo, Spelman will supervise a staff of 324 and an annual budget of more than $26 million.
The Senate decided in a 57-42 vote to expand federal legislation against hate crimes to include violence based on gender, sexual orientation, and disabilities. The original law, passed in 1968, only covers crimes involving race, color, religion, or national origin. The proposal, sponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore.), drops a previous restriction that limited federal intervention to crimes committed during federally protected activities, such as attending school or voting. The bill also calls for training grants to help local authorities respond to hate crimes and federal assistance for the state and local investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. If passed in the House, the bill will make it easier to prosecute using the legislation and will provide crucial federal protection for victims of hate crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
The Senate rejected an amendment that would have lifted a ban prohibiting military women stationed abroad from obtaining abortions in military hospitals, even if the women pay for the procedures themselves. The proposal, offered by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), was defeated in a 50-49 vote. The ban puts the health of overseas servicewomen at risk, forcing them to choose between possibly inadequate health care, or making a trip back to the United States to receive care.
The anti-choice group Christian Defense Coalition sued the US Supreme Court yesterday, claiming that the court violated the First Amendment by banning large signs from the sidewalks outside the court. Twenty-two anti-choice demonstrators were arrested on April 25, when the Court was hearing arguments on Nebraska’s so called “partial birth abortion” ban. The protesters refused to remove “huge, graphic banners” that included a full color picture of a decapitated fetus. Rev. Pat Mahoney, the leader of the protest, argues that the court “did not agree with the content of the message.” However Supreme Court police Marshal Dale Bosley had legitimate concerns for “safety, security, access and decorum.” Bosley also noted that the signs were large enough to be “used as a weapon, to hide an assailant, to block the line of sight of court police, and to block access to the court.”
Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has shifted the strategy of her campaign to emphasize her argument that Rep. Rick Lazio is too conservative for New York. In a recent speech to the New York State Broadcasters Association, Clinton cited her strong advocacy of abortion rights and gun licensing laws, stating that even Giuliani agreed with her on these important issues, but Lazio does not.
In what could be the first major class-action discrimination suit for the telecommunications industry, 302 current and former employees of Nextel Communications Inc. will file complaints of racial and sexual discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the next few weeks. Lawyers for the employees will seek permission to file lawsuits against Nextel in federal court under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a measure that has been instrumental in fighting harassment and discrimination both in employment and in hiring practices. The employees will seek millions of dollars in damages, and seek to require Nextel “to make a multibillion-dollar commitment to sensitivity training and diversity in hiring and promotion.”
Complaints to be filed suggest, “minority employees are harassed and mistreated solely on the basis of their race.” The cases include claims of racial and sexual discrimination, and most of the employees filing complaints are black. They report being “passed over for raises or promotions” and many reported incidents of verbal harassment and derogatory comments made by supervisors and fellow workers.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) recently released a study on adolescent males’ attitudes toward abortion, reporting a decrease in approval for the procedure, especially among whites. The report analyzes two surveys of 3,590 males aged 15-19 conducted in 1988 and 1995. In 1988, 40.4% of teenaged males disapproved strongly of women having elective abortions; in 1995, 50.5% disapproved. The decrease, AGI says, is largely driven by white males; blacks’ and Hispanics’ attitudes have not changed significantly since 1988.
Increasingly conservative male attitudes toward abortion coincide with increasingly conservative attitudes toward premarital sex and an increase in the importance of religion among white male adolescents. The report shows a 6% increase in white respondents citing religion as “very important,” up to 33.7%.
AGI argues that an increase in conservatism has had an effect on adolescent males’ opinions; they also argue that conservatism will have an effect on young men’s sexual and reproductive behavior. This, of course, will affect adolescent women. Alarmingly, AGI’s study shows that “the majority of those surveyed did not support abortion for monetary reasons or in cases where the male partner does not want the abortion.” With young women targeted for prohibitive limitations to reproductive choice, their potential partners’ attitudes could be very harmful. For information on how to protect choice for women most targeted, please see the Campaign for Access and Reproductive Equity.
The Supreme Court today ruled against student-led prayers at high school football games, reaffirming earlier decisions against “officially sponsored prayer in public schools.” The decision declared unconstitutional a Santa Fe public school district’s policy to elect students to lead prayer before home high school football games. The 6-3 majority opinion was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who noted that, despite the school district’s argument that the prayers were student-led and voluntary, “the delivery of a pre-game prayer has the improper effect of coercing those present to participate in an act of religious worship.” Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote a dissenting opinion, which was signed by Justices Scalia and Thomas.
The New York Times reported today on some important aspects of the case, which was initiated by a Roman Catholic and a Mormon family. For example, while the school district argued that the prayers were “private speech,” and did not violate the separation of Church and state; the Supreme Court held that “the realities of the situation plainly reveal that its policy involves both perceived and actual endorsement of religion.” In a related case, the Court let stand a ban on a Louisiana school board policy requiring teachers to preface the teaching of evolution with a disclaimer that the theory was “not intended to influence or dissuade the biblical version of creation or any other concept.” Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas also dissented from that decision.
