Migration Category: news-1-5000-national

Despite much talk of inclusiveness and diversity for the George W. Bush cabinet, recent appointments, as well as the likely-appointees list, suggests that the president-elect’s cabinet may include only two women – Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, named yesterday, and EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, expected to be officially nominated soon.

Yesterday, Bush officially appointed Paul O’Neill as Secretary of the Treasury. O’Neill, chairman of aluminum producer Alcoa, is a trustee of the ultra-conservative American Enterprise Institute, of which Vice President-elect Dick Cheney is vice chairman. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is a think-tank whose ranks include Newt Gingrich and Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, a book which claims genetic and immutable differences in intelligence between blacks and whites. AEI opposes hate crimes legislation, and has conducted anti-gay research.

Other appointments made yesterday were Donald Evans for Commerce Secretary, Mel Martinez for Housing and Urban Development, and Ann Veneman for Agriculture. Evans, a Texan and close family friend of the Bushes, is president and chair of the board of Tom Brown Inc, an oil company — a cause for concern for environmentalists. Martinez is a chief executive officer of Orange County, Florida, and also described as a Bush family friend. Ann Veneman, a lawyer and former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, has been characterized as a centrist, but environmental groups and organizations representing small farmers are concerned by her nomination. Two representatives from the United Farm Workers, while not commenting on Veneman in particular, note that “in the past, under Republican administrations _ both state and federal – farm workers were never included in the decision-making process,” and point out that many issues, including pesticide use, federal subsidies, and support for agribusiness versus support for farm workers, will be on the plate this year.

Other possible nominees in the Bush administration include Frank Keating for Attorney General and Tommy Thompson for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Both have extremely anti-choice voting records, and could place substantial barriers to women’s health. Keating, governor of Oklahoma, “proudly declared that he is one of the architects of the pro-life movement,” says Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s head Gloria Feldt. Under Oklahoma’s Department of Health and Human Services, Keating sponsored a new program “to honor marriage and reduce divorce” – a poorly veiled anti-woman and anti-gay program that reads like a Promise Keepers pamphlet. Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, best known for his welfare-to-work program, stated that abortions should be legal only when pregnancy is a result of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is endangered and signed legislation restriction access to abortion.

Aside from Whitman, all of the top contenders mentioned in the media for the remaining cabinet positions are men.

In a PBS Newshour interview with Jim Lehrer, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (SD-D) said that he would not necessarily oppose a US Supreme Court Justice nominee who supports overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion. Daschle told host Jim Lehrer that a nominee’s opposition to Roe “alone would not probably be the ultimate decision for me. I would want to look at a lot of other factors as well.”

Abortion rights currently rests on a razor thin 5-4 margin in the Court. Daschle’s tepid response has drawn criticism from women’s rights and abortion rights leaders who believe the Senate should refuse to confirm any US Supreme Court nominee who opposes the right to privacy and the Roe decision.

Women’s and lesbian/gay rights groups are opposing the possible nomination of former senator Daniel Coats (R-IN) as Secretary of Defense in George W. Bush’s administration. Coats led the Republican Party in opposition to Clinton’s efforts to lift the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, and had been a leading skeptic of gender integration in the armed forces. While some Republican leaders argue that most gender and sexual orientation policies in the military will see little change in the G.W. Bush administration, women’s and LGBT rights groups fear that a Coats nomination could turn back the clock for women and gays in the military. The Washington Post notes that the Republican Party Platform includes a commitment to re-evaluate the issue of gender integration in the military.

Both the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and the Human Rights Campaign assert that Coats’ socially conservative record in the senate is cause for concern, especially in terms of gays in the military, specifically whether the sexes should be separated in basic training. Kate Michelman, President of NARAL, called him “one of the fiercest opponents of women’s rights in general, and specifically a woman’s right to choose.” The National Right to Life Committee praised his possible nomination, and the conservative Center for Military Readiness, led by Elaine Donnelly, who was one of Phyllis Schlafly’s Stop ERA leaders, also favors a Coats nomination.

The telecommunications company BellSouth joined the ranks of nearly 3,600 companies nationwide that offer health care benefits to gay employees’ partners. The expansion of benefits to include coverage for domestic partners is the most recent trend toward attracting employees and improving the diversity of work force. In one year, the three largest auto makers, the last of the five largest accounting firms, and 8 out of 10 of the largest airline companies all announced partner benefits.

A Republican-sponsored state parental notification bill that would require any woman under 18 to notify one parent before she received an abortion has made its way to the New Jersey Senate. This bill, if passed, would invalidate a decision by the NJ state Supreme Court, which ruled the parental notification law to be unconstitutional. Both houses of the NJ Legislature would have to approve the bill before it could be placed on the November 2001 ballot.

The Scottish Sunday Herald reported on December 10 that federal law enforcement officials believe that James Charles Kopp, a fugitive on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, may be in Europe. According to federal authorities quoted in that report, Kopp allegedly contacted extremist anti-abortion groups in Scotland and England. Yet on December 15, the Toronto Star quoted FBI authorities who claim “many inaccuracies” and deny the validity of the Scottish report. Specifically addressing Kopp’s European whereabouts, New York FBI spokesperson Paul Moskal emphasized that since the search for Kopp began in November 1998, law enforcement officials have “absolutely no information that Mr. Kopp is in Scotland.” According to FBI officials quoted in the Scottish report, Kopp has evaded capture for so long because of “extended help from the international radical wing of the anti-abortion movement.”

Kopp, 46, has twice been indicted – by New York and federal grand juries – for the October 1998 murder of Dr Barnett Slepian, an OB/GYN who was shot and killed through his kitchen window in Amherst, New York. Kopp is also wanted in connection with four similar sniper attacks on abortion providers in Canada and upstate New York.

Kopp, who has a scar near his left thumb, wears glasses, and walks with a slight limp, is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Anyone who may have seen James Charles Kopp or has any information regarding him or his whereabouts should immediately contact local law enforcement officials or the FBI. The U.S. Department of Justice is offering a $500,000 reward; a reward of nearly $500,000 is being offered in Canada.

The Congressional prohibition against using federal funds to pay for abortions will affect Mifepristone. Unlike the 50 states, which can use local tax money to help low-income women pay for abortions, Congress controls the District of Columbia’s taxes and Congress prohibits the use of public funds to cover the cost of abortion. This policy applies to surgical abortions, as well as medical abortions through the use of the abortion pill, RU 486. According to the Washington Post, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams (D) agreed that the policy prohibiting public fund from subsidizing abortion costs would apply to both surgical and medical abortions and could only be used in ending pregnancies that were a result of incest or rape or when the life of the woman is in danger. Low-income women in the D.C. area must rely on the limited private financial aid of groups like Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington.

A presidential campaign laced with promises of bi-partisanship has ended and the unveiling of President-elect George W. Bush’s conservative agenda has begun. At the top of the agenda are school vouchers„a program that drains funding from public schools and pours it into private, often religiously affiliated, institutions. Voucher programs have failed in the courts and in legislation across the country recently. Last week, a Cleveland court ruled the city’s government funded school voucher program to be unconstitutional because vouchers funnel government funds into religious school education–a violation of laws separating church and state.

In an equally partisan move, Bush has promised to sign a bill that will ban late-term abortions–a prohibition President Clinton vetoed. Bush also intends to pursue privatization of Social Security, which would take huge amounts of money out of the Social Security trust fund. A weakened Social Security system means less support for many older people, 60 percent of whom are women.

Despite George W. Bush’s assertions that he will be a “uniter” between Democrats and Republicans, conservative forces who backed his candidacy see Bush’s presidency as an opportunity to codify their agenda into law. Right-wing groups are already demanding ultra-conservative appointments to the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Interior, Education and Labor, and are calling on Bush to reverse several decisions of the Clinton administration, including the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone. In addition, right-wing groups seek a conservative Attorney General, and Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, and defeated Missouri Senator John Ashcroft are top on their lists. Keating, who is vehemently anti-abortion, received an “F” on NARAL’s choice report card during his bid for vice presidential candidate on the Bush ticket. Both Gilmore and Ashcroft have anti-choice records as well. Finally, conservatives assert that they will protest any judicial appointments that are not anti-choice, despite Bush’s claims that he would not use abortion as a “litmus test” for Supreme Court and other judicial appointments.

An international study suggests that a new drug called Femara may fight advanced breast cancer better than tamoxifen, the most-prescribed treatment at this time. As a result of the study, the FDA’s scientific advisors voted unanimously that Femara be approved as a first-line therapy for metastatic breast cancer _ cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Researchers studied 907 postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer, and found that patients taking Femara had 3.6 more months before their tumors worsened, allowing them to postpone undergoing the more toxic chemotherapy treatment. In addition, the risk of the cancer worsening was 30 percent less among patients taking Femara than among patients taking tamoxifen. Femara is used to treat estrogen-dependent breast cancer, which represents 60 percent of breast cancer cases. Forty percent of breast cancers are progestin dependent, and studies suggest that mifepristone, a progestin inhibitor, is promising as a treatment for breast and other progestin-dependent cancers. Join the Feminist Majority Foundation in urging the National Institute of Health to conduct research on the use of mifepristone as a treatment for progestin-dependent cancers and other illnesses.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) decided Wednesday that employers that provide health insurance coverage for preventative treatments are required by law to include contraceptives in the coverage. Health plans that do not already cover preventative treatments may not be required to cover contraceptives. The debate over including contraceptives in health insurance plans erupted when insurance companies covered the cost of the male impotence drug Viagra, but did not pay for the cost of birth control, even though both drugs are related to sexual activity. The EEOC said excluding contraceptives from health care plans violates the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which makes discrimination against a woman “affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions” illegal, with regard to her employment and fringe benefits.

Exelgyn Laboratories announced today that the pharmaceutical company Contragest will distribute mifepristone, under the trade name Mifegyne, to women in Germany beginning in January 2001. This announcement comes after the original distributor opted out because of anti-abortion pressure. Mifepristone is approved as a medical alternative to surgical abortion in Germany. Globally, over 10 million women have used the medication as a safe, effective method of early abortion. Exelgyn is responsible for worldwide (non-U.S.) distribution of mifepristone and currently makes the medication available throughout most of Europe, Israel, Russia, Luxemburg, Norway, and Switzerland. The Feminist Majority Foundation waged a twelve-year, highly publicized public education campaign to bring mifepristone to the United States and to expand women’s health care research. Mifepristone was approved as an abortifacient by the FDA on September 28, 2000 and will be marketed in the United States by Danco Laboratories under the trade name Mifeprex.

US District Judge Patrick Duggan ruled Wednesday that the University of Michigan’s use of affirmative action in its admission procedure is constitutional. Judge Duggan ruled in a case brought on by two white students who charged that U of M’s use of race as a factor in admission was unconstitutional and discriminatory against whites. In his decision, Judge Duggan said that the practice of giving minority applicants’ an edge because of race is just as constitutional as giving children of alumni and superior students an upper hand in the admissions process. According to the Associated Press, Judge Duggan lauded Michigan’s admission practices, saying a “racially and ethnically diverse student body gives rise to educational benefits for both minority and non-minority students.” The University of Michigan has spent $4.3 million defending affirmative action.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced yesterday that it will donate $8.8 million to the International Planned Parenthood Foundation, Reuters Health News Reports. The grant will go towards family planning and reproductive health services in more than 180 countries worldwide and will be distributed over a period of five years.

LEARN MORE Click here to read women’s narratives about barriers or successes in accessing reproductive health and family planning services.

Despite George W. Bush’s campaign trail claim that he would bolster the relationship between blacks and the GOP, a record number of black voters turned out on Election Day and rejected him–9 to 1. Political analysts summed up Bush’s failed attempt to woo black voters as the worst in the history of polling. Bush’s dismal record of providing health care to children in Texas, the state’s $3.15 minimum wage, and his vice presidential pick, Richard Cheney, who voted against releasing Nelson Mandela from prison, contributed to blacks’s overwhelming disapproval of the Republican ticket. Leaders in the African American community have condemned voting rights violations in Florida and the fact that black votes comprise a majority of the uncounted ballots.

The gender gap fueled opposition to Bush among black voters. Black women opposed Bush in higher numbers than black men. Of black women, only 6 percent voted for Bush, compared with 12 percent of black men.

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the city’s government funded school voucher program is unconstitutional because vouchers funnel government funds into religious school education„a violation of laws separating church and state. Of the 4,000 vouchers issued to children in lower income families, 96 percent of the children attended religious schools. Because school vouchers are paid for by taking money out of the government funded public school system, when those funds end up in schools financed by churches, the First Amendment is violated. Federal appeals courts in other cities have reached similar conclusions, including one in Boston. Maine and Vermont’s voucher programs allow funds to pay for tuition at private schools, but not at religiously affiliated schools. The case in Cleveland will likely go before another appeals court or directly to the US Supreme Court.

In tonight’s PBS presentation, “Dying to be Thin,” NOVA examines the epidemic of eating disorders plaguing America’s youth and the fashion industry’s contribution to the problem. The documentary shows the conflict so many American girls and women, and to a lesser degree boys and men, endure when bombarded by images of stick-thin supermodels. Too often, the desire to have the body of a runway model results in severe eating disorders, and even death. “Dying to be Thin” shows the mental and physical effects of eating disorders, speaks to the neurological cause of some eating disorders, and gives viewers a glimpse of a one time “super-thin supermodel” who has taken on a healthy lifestyle and real body.

Last week, a Texas court of appeals ruled that denying Medicaid funding to poor women seeking abortion violates their equal rights. Federal law prohibits the use of Medicaid funds for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. In a 2-to-1 decision, the appeals court ruled that using those guidelines violates women’s equal rights by restricting their access to medically necessary procedures, while men face no such restrictions. Judge Bea Ann Smith wrote the ruling, arguing that the decision applied to medically necessary abortion procedures only. Anti-choice advocates are protesting the decision, saying it will greatly increase the number of abortions among poor women. Pro-choice activists note that improving access to abortion could curb unsafe, illegal abortions among poor women. In 1977, Rosie Jimenez became the first victim of the Hyde Amendment that bans the use of federal money for abortions except to save a woman’s life. Jimenez was a poor, single mother saving money for college who decided to have a back alley abortion instead of using her tuition money so that she could some day make it off welfare and support herself and her daughter on her own.

On December 6, a federal jury found Clayton Waagner guilty of possession of firearms and auto theft, preventing him from carrying out his planned execution of abortion providers across the United States. He is being held without bond until his sentencing, set for March 16. Waagner pleaded insanity in this case, saying that god was sending him messages, instructing him to kill abortion providers. For months, he conducted surveillance of over 100 abortion clinics and doctors in 19 states, going so far as to compile a CD-rom with names of doctors and addresses of clinics that was found in the Winnebago he stole to carry him across the country on his killing spree. Waagner reportedly regrets being arrested before succeeding in murdering any abortion providers. He was en route to Seattle, where he planned to kill a doctor, when he was arrested in Illinois for stealing a Winnebago and police found four handguns under the driver’s seat.

Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Clinic Access Project (NCAP), and other pro-choice groups, played a key role in alerting clinics to Waagner and his plan. NCAP staff issued alerts to abortion clinics, and worked with federal law enforcement through the Justice Department to have Waagner arrested.

The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has 45 days to consider a proposed policy change that would expand political asylum to allow victims of domestic violence to file claims. The proposal, praised by immigrant advocacy groups and women’s rights groups, treats victims of domestic violence as members of a particular persecuted class, and would enable battered women to escape the physical and emotional danger that is often treated by certain governments as merely a “private” matter. Applicants for asylum must show that they cannot return home because of persecution on the basis of religion, nationality or membership in a particular social group. Last year, more than 1,000 of the 42,000 asylum claims were from women who argued that their sex qualified as a persecuted social class. The policy could also help recent immigrants to the U.S. According to the Washington Post, as many as 300 immigrants are deported each year when convicted of domestic crimes; their battered spouses are deported along with them. The proposed policy would allow such women to apply for asylum, while their batterers are deported to their native countries.

While critics of the proposal argue that it is too loose an interpretation of the concept of asylum and crosses into the “personal” realm, INS spokesman Bill Strassberger argues that, although domestic violence occurs in a personal relationship, “it is still persecution.” Due to recent changes in asylum policy, individuals can site similar social categories to qualify for asylum; for example, gays and lesbians can submit that their homosexuality is the basis of persecution in their native countries that justifies their receiving asylum. These expansions did not appreciably increase asylum applications to the United States.