Migration Category: news-10001-15000-national

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of the National Institutes of Health, released the results of its study this week indicating that cigarette smokers face a greater risk of bladder cancer than previously reported. Moreover, the findings, which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that smoking caused approximately 50 percent of the cases of bladder cancer in women, and women’s risk of contracting bladder cancer is now equal to that of men.

According to previous studies, only 20 to 30 percent of cases of bladder cancer in women were caused by smoking. Neal Freedman, one of the authors of the study told PBS, “Ours is the first study to indicate the proportion of bladder cancer linked to smoking is, in fact, the same” for men and women. The researchers suggested that the this may be because the number of women smokers has increased to equal the number of men who smoke.

Christian Abnet PhD, senior author of the study, stated, “Our findings provide additional evidence of the importance of preventing smoking initiation and promoting cessation for both men and women.”

The White House, with an unprecedented number of blocked judicial appointments, has released a new blog post, which reveals that the Republican blocking maneuvers are costing the government $1.4 billion detaining prisoners awaiting trial alone. Moreover, the average wait time of a civil litigant’s jury trial is approximately 25 months and 15.9 percent of civil cases in 2010 experienced a wait of 3 years for a revolution.

Despite President Obama’s dedication to increasing the gender, racial and ethnographic diversity of those serving as federal judges, his judicial nominations have been blocked more than any other president. Republican Senators are either putting holds on appointments or threatening to or are filibustering. Only 97 of President Obama’s 155 judicial nominees have been confirmed. President Obama’s rate of judicial confirmations is only 62.6 percent, compared with George W. Bush’s rate of 86.8 percent and Bill Clinton’s rate of 84.2 percent.

Stephen Zack, president of the American Bar Association, stated that the failure of the Senate to confirm President Obama’s nominations “create[s] strains that will inevitably reduce the quality of our justice system and erode public confidence in the ability of the courts to vindicate constitutional rights or render fair and timely decisions.” The American Bar Association has determined that all of the President’s nominees are qualified for confirmation.

Twenty-one percent of President Obama’s nominees are African Americans and nearly 50 percent are women. By contrast, only 7 percent of President George W. Bush’s nominees were African American and 23 percent were women, and President Clinton’s nominees were 16 percent African American and 29 percent women. President Obama has doubled the number of Asian Americans working as federal judges. Under Obama, the first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, was sworn into the Supreme Court. Moreover, four of President Obama’s nominees are openly gay; nevertheless, only one has been confirmed.

See Infographic: Record Judicial Diversity, Record Judicial Delays

Yesterday, the Virginia Department of Corrections announced that it will adopt regulations banning restraints on pregnant inmates during labor, delivery, and a recovery period following the delivery. The regulations specify that handcuffs may only be used during transport and additional restraints may be used in cases where the woman may harm herself or others, but in these cases, the woman must still be able to stand, walk, and roll over.

The American Medical Association, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Virginia Chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Legal Aid Justice Center, ACLU of Virginia, NARAL Pro-Choice-Virginia, Planned Parenthood-Virginia, VA CURE, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture expressed their support for the Department of Corrections’ new regulations.

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of Kansas City, KS challenging a new state law that prohibits private health insurance plans from covering abortion services, except when the woman’s life is endangered. Under the law, women who seek coverage for abortion services must purchase a separate rider to cover non-lifesaving abortions. Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project indicated that the ACLU is challenging the law on the basis that it is unconstitutional and that it discriminates on the basis of sex.

Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, stated, “This law is part of a nationwide trend to take away insurance coverage for a legal medical procedure that is an important part of basic health care for women. Many things can happen in a pregnancy that are beyond a woman’s control, so having insurance coverage for abortion ensures that every woman can get the health care she may need.”

According to the Guttmacher Institute, “87% of typical employer-based insurance policies in 2002 covered medically necessary or appropriate abortions.” Since 2010, thirteen states have passed laws banning private health plans that participate in public health exchanges from covering abortions.

The Office for Civil Rights at the US Department of Education determined, following its investigation, that two high schools in Oldham County, Kentucky violated Title IX by failing to provide equal locker room facilities for male and female athletes. Passed in 1972, Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all levels of education.

Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel for Education and Employment at the National Women’s Law Center, stated, “The resolution of this complaint is a victory for the girls in Oldham County. The school district must produce a plan that will provide equal facilities for the boys’ and girls’ sports teams…[this] reminds us that while girls have made great strides in athletics because of Title IX, there is still much work to be done to level the playing field.”

Chaudry indicated that the National Women’s Law Center filed another Title IX complaint against Oldham County Schools with the Office of Civil Rights last November for not offering female students equal opportunities to play high school sports.

Yesterday, two Democratic Senators Bob Wirch and Jim Holperin defeated their Republican opponents in the final two Wisconsin recall elections. The recall bids grew out of this spring’s bitter fight over Republican Governor Scott Walker’s anti-union law stripping teachers, nurses and social workers of their collective bargaining rights. Both Democratic senators were among the 14 who fled the state in February in a strategy to make Governor Scott Walker (R) negotiate with them regarding the law.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate stated, “It’s really hard to go five for nine and not be pleased [with] the progress we’ve made.”

In the August 9 recall elections, Democratic Senators Jennifer Shilling and Jessica King won two of the contested seats in strongly Republican districts, and in July, Democrat Dave Hansen won in the first of nine recall elections in Wisconsin this week. Nevertheless, the Democrats, who won five of the total nine recall elections, failed to capture the seats necessary to become the majority in the state Senate. The Republicans now have a 17-16 majority in the state Senate and are also the majority in the Wisconsin House of Representatives.

Last week, a civil lawsuit was filed against the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, where Father Shawn Ratigan was arrested in May for taking “lewd and lacivious” photographs of a now nine year old girl. Bishop Robert Finn of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese admitted that although he knew about Ratiga’s misconduct for approximately six months, he did not report the priest to law enforcement officials, according to the New York Times.

Approximately three years ago, Bishop Finn settled in a sexual abuse suit, with 47 plaintiffs, against the church for $10 million. In the settlement, the Bishop agreed to immediately report suspected cases of pedophilia. Michael Hunter, the president of the Kansas City chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), stated “There were 19 nonmonetary agreements that the diocese signed on to, and they were things like reporting immediately to the police. And they didn’t do it. That’s really what sickens us as much as the abuse.”

Bishop Finn, who is affiliated with Opus Dei, generated criticism from priests and parishioners in the diocese after he cut the funding for the Office of Peace and Justice, which aimed to alleviate poverty and promote human rights, and founded the Respect for Life Office, which focuses on banning stem cell research.

In New Jersey, a bill that would prevent sexual assault survivors from receiving invoices for forensic examinations, as well as for medications to prevent sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy tests, and emergency contraception, awaits the signature of Republican Governor Chris Christie. The bill was passed by a majority in both the state House and Senate. It is unclear whether Christie will sign the bill into law.

Senator Diane Allen (R-Burlington) stated, “In no other crime would it even be contemplated that victims receive an invoice for the collection of evidence needed to prosecute the offenders.”

Congresswoman Annette Quijano (D-Union), who sponsored the bill,remarked, “This is simply the right thing to do. Sexual assault victims have already suffered enough. I see no reason why we should add to that suffering by essentially forcing them to pay for the investigation into their own assault. We must remember that these women are the victims, not the criminals.”

A three judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to overturn a preliminary injunction issued by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton in 2009, which blocked portions of a restrictive state abortion law. Judge Daughton’s ruling prevented anti-abortion provisions from going into effect, including one that would require that women be counseled by a doctor 24 hours prior to obtaining an abortion and one that would require minors seeking abortion services to present a notarized statement from their parents. The law also includes a provision that permits pharmacists and health care personnel to refuse to prescribe emergency contraception on religious grounds.

In the Appeals Court ruling, Judge Peter Swann wrote, “We hold that the statutes affected by the preliminary injunction are constitutional, and we therefore vacate the injunction in its entirety.”

Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood of Arizona, indicated that Planned Parenthood was considering whether to appeal the ruling, which will severely limit women’s access to abortion in Arizona. Howard stated, “We’re looking at all of our options. The bottom line is that the new restrictions imposed by the law are going to put women in harm’s way. And we will fight that…The bottom line is women are going to be hurt by this. It’s really, to one degree or another, going to impact women from across the state and that’s not acceptable.”

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) signed the Justice for Victims of Sex Trafficking Crimes Act into law, which will enable victims of human trafficking charged with prostitution to petition to expunge their prostitution convictions. Governor Quinn stated, “Sex trafficking is a truly reprehensible crime that preys on the most vulnerable. Victims deserve a chance to clear their records and rebuild their lives.”

The law aims to help trafficking victims, who are often limited in their access to housing, employment opportunities, and education due to prostitution convictions. It is part of a campaign in Illinois to hold pimps and johns legally responsible for trafficking, not those who are forced into prostitution. The bill was sponsored by Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights) and Representative Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood and will go into effect January 1, 2012.

Senator Hutchinson stated, “The most important things about Senate Bill 1037 is that it makes sure that the judicial system has a mechanism to ensure that a person who has been the victim of a crime is not automatically considered a criminal. It is good public policy to protect women and children who have been taken advantage of in this most heinous way. They can take the necessary steps to rebuild their lives and become functional members of society after suffering trauma of that magnitude.”

Starting on September 1, approximately 180,000 women in Texas will be without access to contraception and preventive services as a result of the state Legislature’s cuts to family planning services by two-thirds. However, state lawmakers voted to increase funding by $300,000 for Alternatives to Abortion Services, a state program comprised of 26 crisis pregnancy centers, adoption agencies, and maternity homes. The 26 centers receiving money from Texas Pregnancy Care Network, a charity contracted with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

The executive director of Austin LifeCare, Pam Cobern, stated that “the center’s policy is to refer women to community health clinics that are not affiliated with Planned Parenthood or other abortion providers,” according to the New York Times.

Currently, there are an estimated 3,500 CPCs nationwide, most of which are affiliated with one or more national umbrella organizations. CPCs often pose as comprehensive health centers and offer “free” pregnancy tests. Some CPCs coerce and intimidate women out of considering abortion as an option, and do not offer women neutral or comprehensive medical advice. Often CPCs are run by anti-abortion zealots who are not licensed medical professionals.

Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) signed a bill into law that would require that medical staff, including physicians, physician’s assistants, nurses, medical technicians, social workers, and licensed counselors, at abortion clinics are included as mandated reporters under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Planned Parenthood of Illinois notes, that physician, physician’s assistant, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician, social worker, and licensed professional counselor, were already mandated reporters “regardless of the type of facility they work in.”

The mandated reporters will be required to report suspected cases of abuse or neglect. Non-medical staff is also required to notify medical personnel if they suspect abuse.

The bill passed both the state Senate and House unanimously. Although abortion rights activists support the law’s intended aim of helping victims of child abuse, many are concerned that the law will deter under-age girls form seeking necessary health services out of fear of being reported by clinic staff.

The Massachusetts Public Health Department approved new regulations that will allow the sexual partners of those being treated for chlamydia to obtain antibiotics without seeing a doctor. The new regulations aim to dramatically cut down on the spread of the disease in the state.

Kevin Cranston, director of the infectious disease bureau at the Massachusetts Public Health Department, stated, “Right now, if you treat someone and cure them, they could literally be reinfected within hours or days from an untreated sexual partner.”

According to the Boston Globe, since 1999, chlamydia cases have doubled in the state, going from approximately 8,700 cases in 1999 to over 21,200 in 2010.

On Tuesday, a New York City mandate was announced requiring that public school students take one semester of sex education classes during 6th or 7th grade and then an additional semester during either 9th or tenth grade. The sex-education curriculum would emphasize abstinence as the most effective way of preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy but also includes information about contraception and condom use. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York responded by calling the mandate “troubling” and encouraged parents to opt their children out of sex-education classes.

This is the first time in nearly 20 years that students enrolled in New York City public schools will be required to take sex-education classes. According to the New York Times, between 2006 and 2008, twenty-five percent of teenagers received abstinence-only education that did not include information about contraception.

Comprehensive family planning services, like those funded by Title X, are not only based in medically accurate information but are proven to prevent unintended pregnancies and limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), while they save taxpayers’ money.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a new blood test used to predict a baby’s sex is between 95 and 99 percent effective when used by women who are over seven weeks pregnant. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that this test is effective over a month before other sex-determining tests, such as amniocentesis, which is typically performed at approximately 16 weeks gestation, and ultrasounds, performed around the 13th week.

The study indicated that sex determination “can be useful in clinical settings for early detection of fetuses at risk for sex-linked disorders requiring follow-up testing.” Dr. Lee Schulman, chief of clinical genetics at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, stated, “I would have a lot of difficulties offering such a test just for gender identification.”

In India, the government prohibited the use of sonograms in 1994 to reveal the sex of the fetus, but according to the 2011 India census, the country continues to have a disproportionate rate of abortions of female fetuses. For every 1,000 male children under the age six, there are only 914 girls.

Democratic Senators Jennifer Shilling and Jessica King won two of the contested seats in strongly Republican districts. However the Democrats needed to win three seats in order to gain control of the state Senate. The Republicans spent $8 million in Wisconsin’s 8th district to retain State Senator Alberta Darling’s seat, who was challenged by State Rep. Sandy Pasch, setting probably a nation-wide historic record on money spent for single state Senatorial race. The Democrats were heavily outspent in this seat, having raised for Pasch a little over $1 million, which typically would have been more than enough to successfully challenge the seat in Wisconsin.

Most disconcerting about this key race was that Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus reported at about 11pm that their returns would be delayed for an hour or more. This is the same county and the same county clerk that six months ago found some 14,000 votes in the highly contested Supreme Court race, tipping the vote to allow GOP-backed Justice David Prosser to defeat Democrat-supported Amy Kloppenburg, who had previously been leading by 200 votes. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin had asked for a Department of Justice investigation for election irregularities concerning this county in the Supreme Court race.

The remaining two elections challenging the Democrats will occur on August 16. However, even if the Democrats win those seats, the Republicans will maintain control by one vote of the Senate. The Republicans are also the majority in the Wisconsin House of Representatives.

The recall bids grew out of this spring’s bitter fight over Republican Governor Scott Walker’s anti-union law stripping teachers, nurses and social workers of their collective bargaining rights. Walker who had led a fight to cut taxes of corporations, then cut not only teachers bargaining rights but cut state education funding resulting in closing some public schools and teachers’ pensions.

Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced his decision to select Senator Patty Murray to co-chair the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, a debt panel formed last week to designate approximately $1.5 trillion in cuts from the federal budget. Senator Murray, a strong supporter of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and veteran’s benefits and the Chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, will join Reid’s other picks for the committee, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-MA) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT. Senator Reid described Murray’s “depth of knowledge on budget issues” and her “ability to work across party lines” in a statement. Reid did not choose Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, or Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Whip, both of whom supported cuts to Medicare and Social Security as members of the President’s Deficit Commission.

Senator Murray issued a joint statement with Senators Kerry and Baucus saying, “This is an important moment for our country. Millions of Americans are struggling in this tough economy, working overtime to pay the bills, find a job, and find a way forward for their families, and they want this Committee to force the federal government to make similar sacrifices without the red hot partisanship and brinksmanship of the last months. Every member of Congress knows the importance of getting our fiscal house in order.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) must also name 3 members each to the bipartisan 12-person panel by August 16. Representative Boehner will decide Murray’s co-chair.

President Obama, who has nominated more ethnic minorities and women for federal judge positions than any other president, has dramatically increased judicial diversity during his term, despite low rates of confirmation of his nominees. Only 97 of President Obama’s judicial nominees have been confirmed, compared to President George W. Bush, who has had 322 of his judicial nominees confirmed, and 372 nominees confirmed during President Clinton’s two terms.

Twenty-one percent of President Obama’s nominees are African Americans and nearly 50 percent are women. By contrast, only 7 percent of President George W. Bush’s nominees were African American and 23 percent were women, and President Clinton’s nominees were 16 percent African American and 29 percent women. Moreover, three of President Obama’s nominees are openly gay. Kathryn Ruemmler, the White House counsel, stated, “The president wants the federal courts to look like America. He wants people who are coming to court to feel like it’s their court as well.”

Nevertheless, President Obama’s judicial nominations have been stalled more than those of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The Constitutional Accountability Center indicated, “Never before has the number of vacancies risen so sharply and remained so high for so long during a president’s term.” Moreover, the Senate has taken approximately three times longer to confirm Obama’s district court nominations compared to the first Congress of the Bush administration.

Alcoa Mill Products Inc., the world’s leading aluminum manufacturer, has agreed to pay over $540,000 in back wages to 37 Hispanic and African-American and two women job applicants following a compliance review conducted by the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that found that the company had discriminated in its hiring practices. The job applicants were all denied material handler positions at the company’s Lancaster, PA plant.

Patricia Shiu, director of OFCCP, stated, “No worker should be denied a job because of factors that have absolutely nothing to do with his or her ability to accomplish the work. I am glad we reached a fair settlement with Alcoa Mill Products, one that not only provides financial remedies for the affected victims, but also creates opportunities for good jobs.”

During its investigation between 2009 and 2010, OFCCP found that Alcoa Mill Products violated Executive Order 11246 “by failing to meet its obligations as a federal contractor to ensure that qualified job applicants receive equal consideration for employment without regard to their sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.”

Today six recall elections are being held for seats in the Wisconsin Senate, with five Democratic challengers running. The recall bids grew out of this spring’s bitter fight over an anti-union law backed by Republican Governor Scott Walker. Opponents of the law are targeting six Republican state senators who voted for the law.

On July 22, Democrat Dave Hansen won in the first of nine recall elections in Wisconsin, easily defending his seat in the state Senate from a Republican David Vanderleest. The remaining two elections challenging the Democrats will occur on August 16.

A record amount of money has been donated from sources around the country to Republican candidates. According to Bloomberg, the Wisconsin Democracy Club estimates that $40 million has been spent on the election in total. Mike McCabe, executive director of Wisconsin Democracy Club, remarked, “The spending is so far off the charts. It does not compare to anything we’ve ever seen. It is an indication of how much things have been stirred up here.”

If Democrats gain two additional seats, they will win control of the Senate and greatly improve their chance of thwarting further Walker initiatives.