Author: Feminist Newswire

Catholic colleges and universities across the country are siding with Boston College’s decision to discipline students who continue to distribute condoms on campus. A representative from Catholic University, Victor Nakas, said, “One of the teachings of our faith is that contraception is morally unacceptable. Since condoms are a form of contraception, we do not permit their distribution on campus.” Colleges that have aligned their policies with Boston College include the University of Notre Dame, Georgetown University, University of Dayton, Providence College, and the Catholic University of America.

A group of Boston College students are facing possible punishment from the college’s administration for passing out condoms. The group, Safe Sites, founded a network of eighteen dorm rooms and additional spaces near the campus that provide condoms to students.

A spokesperson for the college, Jack Dunn, told students in an email that, “As a Jesuit, Catholic University, there are certain Catholic commitments that Boston College is called to uphold. We ask our students to respect these commitments, particularly as they pertain to Catholic social teaching on the sanctity of life. We recognize that, as a reflection of society at large, many students do not agree with the Church’s position on these issues. However, we ask those who do not agree to be respectful of our position, and circumspect in their private affairs.”

Media Resources: The Boston Globe 3/28/13; The Feminist Newswire 3/29/13

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A French law that allows minors between the ages of fifteen and eighteen to receive free contraception from family planning centers and provides abortion without cost to patients went into effect this Sunday. The law was promised by President François Holland during his election campaign.

The measure covers both contraceptive pills as well as implants, which can be obtained at pharmacies with a prescription. The patch, coil and cap, and condoms are not covered by the new law. A provision of the measure prevents obtaining contraceptives from appearing on insurance statements, preserving the anonymity of the minors who choose to use contraception.

The law was intended to reduce the number of abortions in France, where there are currently approximately 12,000 abortion procedures annually. Many women were unable to afford abortions before the measure, as the average cost ranged between €200 and €450.

Media Sources: RFI 3/31/13; The Connexion 4/1/13

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Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant (R) announced that he has nominated Terri Herring to the state’s Board of Health Wednesday. Bryant nominated her because she has “committed her life to women’s health care and the right to life.” Herring is a director of the Pro-Life America Network in addition to being president of the Mississippi Choose Life Advisory Committee.

Mississippi state law requires that the Board of Health must be comprised of five currently licensed physicians and six individuals with a background or interest in public health. Herring was nominated as the latter. Her appointment, if confirmed, would have a six year term.

Using a state’s Board of Health to control abortion regulations is a strategy that has been successful in the past. The Virginia Board of Health passed Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers (TRAP) Laws earlier this year that are harsh regulations that could force abortion providers in Virginia to meet the building codes of new hospitals or face closure. Last year, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts voted to revoke the license of abortion provider Dr. Ann Neuhaus over allegations that she did not provide adequate mental health exams on patients she referred to the late Dr. George Tiller for late abortions. Dr. Neuhaus maintains that she provided proper exams, and critics of the decision have said that the investigation and subsequent ruling were the result of anti-abortion sentiments

Feminist Newswire 1/2/13, 6/26/12; NBC News 3/28/13; The Mississippi Press 3/28/13; WLOX 3/28/13

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A group of Boston College students are facing possible punishment from the university’s administration for passing out condoms. The group, Safe Sites, founded a network of eighteen dorm rooms and additional spaces near the campus that provide condoms to students.

A spokesperson for the college, Jack Dunn, told students in an email that, “As a Jesuit, Catholic University, there are certain Catholic commitments that Boston College is called to uphold. We ask our students to respect these commitments, particularly as they pertain to Catholic social teaching on the sanctity of life. We recognize that, as a reflection of society at large, many students do not agree with the Church’s position on these issues. However, we ask those who do not agree to be respectful of our position, and circumspect in their private affairs.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is now involved and are willing to counter with legal action if the proposed disciplinary action by the college takes place. The ACLU has called disciplinary threat “entirely inappropriate.”

Media Resources: WBUR News & Wire Services 3/27/13; BostInno 3/28/13; The Daily Beast 3/28/13

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The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), announced Sunday that it is changing its name from Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to just GLAAD in an effort to expand its mission statement to include members of the transgender community. GLAAD is known for its efforts to curb anti-gay and lesbian media–an effort it now looks to extend to trans* and bisexual people.

GLAAD spokesperson Rich Ferraro said in an interview with MSNBC.com, “This is a reflection of the work we’re doing today, and a reflection of the work the gay and lesbian community needs to be doing…our name was hindering that in many instances.”

Ferrero went on to comment on changing social stigma. “There have been huge increases in support for gay and lesbians, and for marriage equality. We’ve noticed that trend and wondered how we could use the tactics that the gay and lesbian community had used to get to today’s tipping point [for the trans* community].”

Transgender advocate Janet Mock, who joined Rich Ferraro on MSNBC, added “We need to redefine what equality is. If we’re defining equality as something that is scarce and limited and is for a very select few in our community and some of us need to wait a little bit. That is not equality. That’s upholding very systematic systems of oppression.”

According to a 2011 study by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, individuals who identify as transgender are 30% more likely to be victims of violence and discrimination (compared with heterosexual people).

Sources: MSNBC.com 3/24/13; The Huffington Post 3/25/13

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Today the North Dakota state legislature passed a measure that would amend the state Constitution to define life as starting as conception, granting full personhood to fertilized eggs. The state House approved the measure in vote of 57-35. The state Senate already approved the measure in February. The measure now goes before North Dakota voters. It is the first time a Personhood measure has passed in a state legislature, instead of being added to a ballot through signature drives.

Media Resources: Associated Press 3/22/2013

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Today the automatic government spending cuts called “sequesters” will go into effect at midnight. The cuts that total $85 billion of funding for government programs will have a disproportionately harsh impact on women, not only in the United States but around the world.

$32 million will be cut from overseas family planning programs, resulting in almost 1.7 million women losing access to contraception and an estimated 500,000 more unplanned pregnancies. Many of these programs also work to fight maternal mortality across the world and experts predict that the impact of the sequester will result in approximately 1,292 more women dying as a result of childbirth.

According to the Center for American Progress, $15 million will be cut from Title X programs, which provide funding for family planning providers for contraceptives and services including cancer screenings and STI/HIV testing. Title X also includes funding for infertility services and health care referrals. These cuts could result in approximately 130,000 women losing family planning access. In addition, the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which helps lower income women access diagnostic services such as mammograms and clinic breast and pelvic examinations to prevent cancer, will be cut. These cuts combined could threaten family planning clinics across the country because they may no longer receive enough funding for basic services to stay open.

While Congress did approve the Violence Against Women Act yesterday, the sequester strips funding for violence prevention programs authorized by VAWA. A total of $13 million would be cut from violence prevention funding across the country. The three states that would see the greatest cuts in the STOP Violence Against Women Program created by VAWA are California, Texas, and New York. These three states alone could lose funding that would benefit an estimated 6,700 victims of violence.

WIC, or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program that supplies food security for low income mothers and their children would lose $600 million in funding. In addition, child care programs which are essential for working families that cannot afford private child care will see dramatic cuts alongside funding for child vaccination programs that could see 32,000 fewer children vaccinated as a result of sequester cuts.

Primary and secondary educational programs will see $713.3 million cuts in funding. California, Texas, and Florida will see the largest decreases in funding of public K-12 education, risking an estimated 2,890 teacher jobs at the grade school level. These states also could see large decreases in funding for programs focusing on education for children with disabilities. Higher education will also be impacted by reduced funding in financial aid and work study jobs that benefit primarily low-income students.

At a press conference yesterday, Nancy Pelosi lead women Representatives in condemning the effects the sequester will have on women. Pelosi addressed the media, “Cuts to women’s health from pre-natal care to cancer screenings; cuts to services to victims of domestic violence; …cuts to initiatives to support children and families like WIC and Head Start. …For the sake of America’s women …Democrats and Republicans must work together to protect the middle class.” Representative Rosa DeLauro echoed Pelosi’s sentiments in saying “Allowing these cuts to pass is reckless, it’s irresponsible and it is especially harmful to women, to their jobs and to the services that they rely on.” Today, President Obama is meeting with leading Congressional officials in an attempt to see what resolution, if any, can be reached to avoid the extreme cuts.

Media Resources: Sources: New York Times 3/1/2013; Reuters 3/1/2013; Center For American Progress 2/28/2013; The Hill 2/28/2013; ThinkProgress 2/25/2013; Population Action International 2/22/2013; Feminist Newswire 2/28/2013, 2/26/2013

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Mayoral Candidate Marco McMillan of Clarksdale, Mississippi, was found dead on Wednesday in what authorities have ruled is a homicide. 22 year old Lawrence Reed, who was found inside McMillan’s crushed car after a head-on collision, is currently in custody facing a murder charge. McMillian’s body was later discovered nearby.

“It’s too early in the investigation to know what the motive is,” a spokesman of the Sherriff’s Office said to CNN.

McMillan was the first openly gay man to run for mayor in Mississippi. The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute tweeted that McMillian was “one of the 1st viable openly #LGBT candidates in Mississippi.” McMillan’s campaign centered around improving the employment rate in Clarksdale, as well as cracking down on crime in the impoverished Delta region.

McMillan’s campaign team said on facebook “We remember Marco as a bold and passionate public servant, whose faith informed every aspect of his life.” McMillan had previously served as Executive Director of Phi Beta Sigma, where he brought greater attention to HIV/AIDS and its impact on people of color. Ebony Magazine named McMillan to its list of thirty up-and-coming African-American leaders under thirty in 2004.

Sources: CNN 2/28/2013; International Business Times 2/28/2013; USA Today 2/28/2013

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The Arkansas Senate voted yesterday to override Governor Mike Beebe’s (D) Tuesday veto of a bill that bans abortion at twenty weeks. The Senate voted 19 to 14 in favor of overriding the veto following a House override vote of 53 to 28 on Wednesday. In Arkansas, a majority vote in both houses is the only requirement to override a veto and pass a bill into law. The passage of the bill makes Arkansas the tenth state to outlaw abortions after 20 weeks.

Beebe vetoed the bill on claims that it was unconstitutional. Additionally, the 20 week ban violates the legal threshold enacted by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has held that bans on abortion before a fetus is viable are unconstitutional. Viability usually occurs after the 24 week mark.

The state legislature also approved a bill outlawing abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected through an abdominal ultrasound, which typically occurs at 12 weeks. The bill now goes before Governor Beebe, who is expected to veto the legislation.

Media Resources: New York Times 2/28/13; Reuters 2/28/13; Feminist Newswire 2/28/2013, 2/14/2013

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Late last night, the House Rules Committee decided to bring the inclusive Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) to the House floor for a vote – provided that a restrictive House substitute bill is rejected first.

House leadership announced a substitute bill last week that guts necessary protections for students, LGBTQ individuals, immigrants, and Native Americans from the Senate bill. A similar “fake” VAWA was proposed by House leadership last year in an attempt to block inclusive protections, and instead allowed VAWA to expire at the end of the year without even seeing a vote.

However, the substitute bill has triggered an outcry from both House Democrats and Republicans, in addition to criticism from the White House and women’s rights organizations. At a press conference yesterday, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led Democratic and women’s rights leaders in decrying the House’s attempt to restrict protections. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI), told the media “How can we justify turning battered women away because of their sexual orientation? “How can we throw our Native American women under the bus?” Also at the press conference Lauren Dunn, currently a law student at the University of Maryland who is a survivor of a gang rape by two undergraduate students, told reporters “Ending domestic assault is not about politics. Ending violence against women is about justice “justice for victims like me.”

As determined by the House Rules Committee, if the substitute bill is defeated the House will then immediately vote on the inclusive bill as passed by the Senate. Reportedly, the restrictive substitute bill is likely to fail, paving the way for the Senate bill to pass with bipartisan support. If so, the bill could go before President Obama by the end of the week.

Sources: New York Times 2/27/2013; Executive Office of the President 2/26/2013; Feminist Majority 2/26/2013; The Hill 2/26/2013; Huffington Post 2/26/2013Feminist Newswire 2/22/2013

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Photo Courtesy of Feminist Majority Foundation