Feminist Newswire, Author at Feminist Majority Foundation

FMF President Eleanor Smeal Inducted into National Women’s Hall of Fame

Posted on October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

This weekend Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in historic Seneca Falls, New York.

From left to right: Janet Hughes, Katherine Spillar, Lilly Ledbetter, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Eleanor Smeal, and Terry O'Neill. — From left to right: Janet Hughes, Katherine Spillar, Lilly Ledbetter, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Eleanor Smeal, and Terry O’Neill.

The National Women’s Hall of Fame, which is located in the heart of the US Women’s Movement in Seneca Falls, recognized Smeal and nine other women for their achievements. Smeal was introduced in the induction ceremony by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, a long-time champion of women’s rights. “Ellie has worked non-stop for women’s equality,” Maloney said, recalling the many issues Maloney and Smeal have worked on together. “Women united shall never be defeated,” Maloney concluded.

Smeal’s acceptance speech reflected on a lifetime of activism and support from her family. She remembered her mother’s indignation when a high school advisor suggested she attend secretarial college. She thanked her brother Edward Cutri for including her, even as a child, in typically “male” activities like baseball or playing the drums. Smeal talked about bringing her children to rallies and protests when they were young. “We didn’t go to the zoo,” she joked.

Eleanor Smeal giving her acceptance speech

Smeal’s many accomplishments have positively affected women and men across the country, but she made a call to action for the progress that is still needed for women’s equality. Smeal specifically mentioned the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls. “We cannot forget the women of Afghanistan and around the world,” she said. “They may be threatened, they may be beaten or killed, but they fight every day for their rights.”

Smeal also called for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that was just three states shy of being ratified in 1982. ““We’re running out of time- we have to pass the ERA for the next generation,” she said, joining activists attending the induction ceremony as they erupted into chants of “ERA NOW!”

Fellow inductee Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, and Lilly Ledbetter, women’s rights activist who spurred the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, both voiced their support for a national ERA.

Smeal with her National Women's Hall of Fame medal — Smeal with her National Women’s Hall of Fame medal

At a press conference yesterday Smeal and National Organization of Women President Terry O’Neill spoke specifically about the ERA, calling for renewed action. They explained that putting women into the United States Constitution would federally guarantee equal pay and protect women’s ability to make healthcare decisions. A national ERA would also give constitutional basis for legislation that would secure women’s equality going forward, such as the Violence Against Women Act.

Smeal was one of 10 great women inducted this fall. The women joined 247 past inductees, including Ms. Magazine co-founder Gloria Steinem, and Feminist Majority Foundation board member Dolores Huerta.

Media Resources: National Women’s Hall of Fame 2015 video; ERA Feminist Campus Fact Sheet; Democrat and Chronicle 10/4/15; National Women’s Hall of Fame website;

Circuit Court Denies Anti-Choice Extremist’s Appeal Over Threatening Letter

Posted on October 2, 2015October 5, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

In a victory for women’s healthcare providers seeking protection from anti-abortion extremism and violence, the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a petition to revise its previous ruling that Angel Dillard, an anti-abortion extremist, must stand trial for a threatening letter she sent to a Kansas doctor in 2011.

The decision, announced Tuesday, upholds an earlier ruling in which a three-judge appeals court panel voted 2-1 to overturn a federal judge’s 2013 conclusion that Dillard’s letter was constitutionally protected free speech. Dillard must now face a jury- not a judge- to determine whether the letter, addressed to Dr. Mila Means, a women’s healthcare provider who had been training to offer abortion services in Wichita at the time, constituted a “true threat” of violence.

The Justice Department filed suit against Dillard in 2011, just two years after the murder of Dr. George Tiller by anti-abortion extremists, for violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), a federal law which seeks to protect abortion providers and their patients from harassment and violence. In the letter, Dillard warned Dr. Means that thousands of people across the country were studying her, promising they would learn her “habits and routines.” “They know where you shop, who your friends are, what you drive, where you live,” wrote Dillard. “You will be checking under your car every day – because maybe today is the day someone places an explosive under it.”

At the time she received the letter from Dillard, Dr. Means had been the target of a campaign coordinated by anti-abortion extremist group Operation Rescue (OR) and its leader, Troy Newman, to try and stop her from providing abortions in Wichita. OR first exposed Dr. Means’ name to its followers and to the press and then led efforts to end her plans to provide abortions, which included trespassing into her family practice office, organizing protests outside her office, following her employees home, publishing and circulating WANTED-style posters and emails targeting her, demonstrating at her rural home outside of Wichita, and terrorizing a potential landlord for her new clinic. Dr. Tiller was the target of a similar campaign led by Operation Rescue prior to his murder.

According to a survey conducted by the Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Clinic Access Project and released in January 2014, threats of violence against abortion providers have doubled since 2010, with one in four clinics experiencing anti-abortion activity daily and nearly 14 percent reporting “high-levels of severe violence.”

“The law is clear: threatening abortion providers with stalking, car bombs and murder is not protected speech under the First Amendment,” duVergne Gaines, director of the National Clinic Access Project at the Feminist Majority Foundation, said in a statement in July. “The decision strongly reinforces the integrity of FACE and its use to stop threats and other conduct designed to terrorize and intimidate providers and patients.”

Media Resources: CJ News 9/29/15; NCAP Survey 2014; Feminist Newswire 8/3/15;

Congress Passes a Continuing Resolution, Avoids Government Shutdown For Now

Posted on October 2, 2015October 5, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

Yesterday, just hours before the midnight deadline, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government—and avert a shutdown— through December 11. The Senate passed the CR in a 78-20 vote, while the House vote was 277-151.

The House also voted yesterday on a “correction enrollment” measure—meant to “correct” the CR—to defund Planned Parenthood. However, the vote is considered to be largely symbolic as the Senate is not expected to act on the measure.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “Tonight’s vote highlights the astounding, toxic radicalism of the Republican majority. It exposes the depths of their contempt for women’s health and their total indifference to the priorities of hard-working American families. The American people need and deserve better. In the coming weeks, Congress must come together to avert further crisis and negotiate a budget that will responsibly end the sequester and meet the needs of the American people.”

Lawmakers now face the challenge of formulating a long-term budget deal that President Obama will sign into law. Obama has vowed to veto any spending measure that does not ease the sequestration spending cuts and caps on appropriations put into place in the 2011 Budget Control Act. Congress granted sequestration relief during negotiations on the last spending bill, but that relief is set to expire in 2016.

Media Resources: The Hill 9/30/15; Office of Nancy Pelosi, Press Release 9/30/15; Huffington Post 3/21/15; Washington Post 9/14/13; Politico 10/12/13

Settlement Reached in UPS Pregnancy Discrimination Case

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

United Parcel Service has reached a settlement with former UPS air driver Peggy Young, concluding a nine-year pregnancy discrimination case that reached all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The parties filed to dismiss the case this morning in a reportedly amicable settlement, the details of which were not released. “We are grateful that this case has finally come to a just conclusion, and we thank UPS and its counsel for their cooperation,” said Young’s attorney Sharon Fast Gustafson. “Not many victims of discrimination would have had the grit that Peggy Young displayed in sustaining this struggle for nine years.”

When Young discovered that she was pregnant, UPS denied her doctor-recommended request for light duty assignment and forced to take unpaid medical leave without health insurance, despite UPS granting similar requests for other employees with disabilities or injuries. Young sued, but the federal district court dismissed her case without a trial, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the ruling against her, finding that UPS’s policy of accommodating workers with disabilities or those injured on the job were “pregnancy-blind” and did not amount to impermissible sex discrimination under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts in March 2015, allowing Young’s case to finally go to trial. By that time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had issued new enforcement guidance related to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act clarifying protections for pregnant workers and UPS itself officially changed its pregnant worker policy allowing pregnant workers to be placed on light duty assignments.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), championed by the National Organization for Women and Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal, then-president of NOW, was passed in 1978. The law prohibits employers from legally discriminating against pregnant women in hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, career development, or benefits. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act expanded economic opportunities for women, helped women maintain job stability, protected women against lost wages and costs associated with job loss, and contributed to families’ overall financial well-being. Yet, pregnancy discrimination in the workplace has persisted, with many pregnant women fired or forced to take unpaid leave. That’s why advocates are calling on Congress to pass the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act (PWFA), which would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees.

The root of pregnancy discrimination, however, is sex discrimination. In her book, Equal Means Equal, Jessica Neuwirth, President of the ERA Coalition, traces pregnancy discrimination to the presumption “clearly based on sex” that “a worker is someone who does not become pregnant.” The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that pregnancy discrimination is not sex discrimination prohibited by the Fourteenth Amendment, something that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was supposed to remedy, but hasn’t. Neuwirth argues that this type of persistent discrimination shows the continued urgent need for the Equal Rights Amendment, a constitutional amendment prohibiting discrimination based on sex.

“An Equal Rights Amendment,” she writes, “could change the legal landscape by creating a right to sex equality that is fundamental and substantive. What this might mean in the context of pregnancy is recognition that women and men have equal rights to work and have children at the same time. It would require recognition that women and men have biological differences and that the workplace cannot be structured solely around the biology of men.”

Resolutions supporting ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment have been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate.

Media Resources: Office of Sharon Fast Gustafson, Press Release 10/1/15; Feminist Newswire 7/3/14; 12/3/14; 10/30/14; 3/27/15; 5/15/15; National Women’s Law Center 6/18/13; Congress.gov; Jessica Neuwirth, Equal Means Equal (2015)

Planned Parenthood President Testifies Before House Committee

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

Amid calls from anti-abortion lawmakers to defund Planned Parenthood, the organizations’s president Cecile Richards testified today in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The initial purpose of the hearing was to “investigate” Planned Parenthood’s use of federal funds in light of unscrupulous and thoroughly debunked claims that the organization profits from fetal tissue donation.

In her testimony, Richards outlined how Planned Parenthood’s work—providing healthcare to some 2.7 million people each year—is being distorted by the anti-abortion group calling itself the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), who “acted fraudulently and unethically—and perhaps illegally” to smear the organization’s reputation. Seven states have already investigated the CMP allegations and found no wrongdoing on the part of Planned Parenthood. Patients at only one percent of Planned Parenthood clinics (in only two states) are able to chose to participate in legal fetal tissue donation programs that support critically important medical research.

Despite no evidence that Planned Parenthood misuses federal funds or has engaged in any illegal activity, Congress, in just the past few months, has already taken 14 votes to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood serves many regions where there are no other providers. Defunding Planned Parenthood therefore threatens to cut off vital health care for women, many of whom are low-income.

“The federal funding that Planned Parenthood receives allows doctors and clinicians at our health centers to provide birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections,” explained Richards who noted that because of the Hyde Amendment, a discriminatory federal law, Planned Parenthood is unable to provide many low-income women with abortion services except in the limited circumstances allowed by law.

The hearing, which lasted around five hours, was often tense, with some members curtly interrupting Richards’s testimony or preventing her from providing information. At one point, in response to Committee Chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) who presented information prepared by the anti-abortion Americans United for Life, Richards attempted to explain that the information was inaccurate. After repeatedly trying to respond, Richards finally stated, “It doesn’t feel like we’re trying to get to the truth here.”

Planned Parenthood organized a “Pink Out Day” to coincide with the hearing, delivering two million petitions to the Capitol this afternoon. Thousands of people also participated in over 300 events across the country.

Media Resources: Feminist Newswire 9/1/15; Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Testimony 9/29/15; Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Letter 9/21/15; Planned Parenthood 9/29/15

World Leaders Commit to Ending Gender Discrimination at UN Summit

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

This weekend, on the 20th anniversary of the fourth world conference on women in Beijing, leaders from around the globe met in New York City to discuss concrete and measurable plans for eliminating discrimination against women.

The plans were announced and reviewed by over 80 world leaders over the weekend at the “Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Commitment to Action,” summit co-hosted by the UN and China. These commitments are country-specific, and include tangible and realistic steps toward increasing gender parity. For example, Arthur Mutharika the president of Malawi announced plans for gender-responsive budgeting in the national budget, using the HeforShe Campaign as one strategy of implementation. Similarly, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has promised to maintain its commitments under the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The summit also coincided with demonstrations demanding that the 20 some women imprisoned for their feminism various countries, including three in China, be released.

“The highest leaders in the land are taking personal responsibility for their commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women,” UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said. “Now the world looks up to them to lead the game-changing actions that secure and sustain implementation. Today we take the first firm steps towards 25 September, 2030.”

In March, the Clinton Foundation released the “No Ceilings” report, revealing data measuring women and girls’ participation worldwide in the 20 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where the 1995 Declaration and Platform for Action made women and girls a priority. The groundbreaking 14th plank of the platform declared “Women’s rights are human rights,” laying the groundwork for governments worldwide to implement action plans for the goal of full participation for women and girls. In many ways, the report showed significant increases for women and girls, such as a dramatic lowering of the maternal mortality rate; but it also revealed massive gaps to be filled and progress to be made. For example, women still make up only 22 percent of parliament globally, and 1 in 4 girls in the world was married before her 18th birthday.

Media Resources: UN Women Press Release 9/27/15; Feminist Newswire 3/16/15; No Ceilings Report, Clinton Foundation 2015;

Senate Democrats Block Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

Senators voted 47-52 yesterday to block a short-term spending bill, falling short of the 60 votes needed to defund Planned Parenthood beginning in October.

Eight Republican senators joined Senate Democrats to vote against moving forward on the spending bill that would have stripped federal funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not announced a plan to avoid shutting down the government come next Wednesday at midnight.

The bill, HR 61, is the latest in a series of anti-abortion measures introduced by Republican lawmakers to eliminate funding to the nation’s leading reproductive health care provider following the release of several fraudulent videos by the Center for Medical Progress. Despite no evidence that there is any truth to the videos’ claims that Planned Parenthood is illegally selling fetal tissue, Republicans insisted on eliminating funding that enables millions of women, especially low-income women, to access health care.

Given that Planned Parenthood provides quality, affordable reproductive health care to 2.7 million women, men and teens at approximately 700 health centers nationwide, the stakes could not be higher.

Furthermore, Planned Parenthood serves more clients of publicly funded family planning centers than any other provider in the country. 79 percent of Planned Parenthood health care patients have incomes at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Ending Planned Parenthood’s services would put women’s lives at risk, especially low-income women who would not be able to afford care elsewhere.

Media Resources: Senate Roll Call 9/24/15; Feminist Newswire 9/17/15; Planned Parenthood Fact Sheet; The Guardian 9/24/15;

Abuse Victim Advocate Blasts Pope’s Remarks on US Bishops’ ‘Courage’

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

In a statement released Wednesday by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), president Barbara Blaine blasted Pope Francis for his praise of US bishops’ “courage,” accusing the pontiff of doing “little if anything” to meaningfully address the Catholic Church’s decades-long sex abuse crisis.

Pope Francis, in a homily delivered at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., one of several stops on his first US tour, told the nearly 300 bishops in attendance that he was “conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficulty moments in the recent history of the Church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

Blaine, who founded SNAP in 1988 as a self-help organization for victims of clergy sexual abuse, wasted no time in challenging the pope’s characterization of the Church’s disastrous handling of the scandals, noting no clergy have been “defrocked, demoted, disciplined or even publicly denounced” despite the revelation of at least 100,000 victims over the course of 30 years of known abuse.

“What sacrifice?,” questioned Blaine. “What bishop takes fewer vacations, drives a smaller car, does his own laundry or has been passed over for promotion because he’s shielding predators and endangering kids? None.”

Today, the Vatican stood by the pope’s comments. “I am not surprised that there are critics that are not happy,” said Vatican Press Secretary, Rev. Federico Lombardi. “This is not the first time.”

Despite decades of occurrence, clergy sexual abuse only entered the public consciousness thirteen years ago, following an explosive exposé by the Boston Globe. According to Blaine, in the years since, Catholic Church officials have taken few steps to protect children from future victimization.

“[Pope Francis’] remarks today confirm what we’ve long suspected: this pope, like his predecessors, is doing and will do little if anything to bring real reform to this continuing crisis. Those who care about kids must focus on secular authorities, not church figures (however popular they may be).

Media Resources: SNAP Press Release 9/23/15; Washington Post 9/23/15; USA Today 9/23/15;

National Women’s Groups Urge Jerry Brown to Sign California FACT Law

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

In a joint letter delivered Tuesday, more than 20 national women’s groups called on California Governor Jerry Brown to sign into law A.B. 775, the Reproductive FACT Act, a measure requiring unlicensed clinics providing pregnancy-related services to disclose that they are not medical providers.

The law, introduced in April by Assembly members David Chiu and Autumn Burke, would also require reproductive health clinics to provide information about the state’s public programs offering access to affordable family planning, prenatal and abortion services. It was passed by the California State Assembly in May this year.

Twenty-three national women’s organizations nationwide, including the Feminist Majority Foundation, signed the letter in an effort to curb the proliferation of anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) and address the public health threat posed by their deceptive practices.

“For far too long, anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) have used misleading tactics to lure women in their centers where they intentionally misinform women with long-debunked myths about family planning and abortion,” wrote the groups. “Regardless of one’s opinion on abortion, no woman seeking medical care should be shamed or lied to; let’s start holding CPCs accountable in California.”

Last week, a new poll conducted by Tulchin Research for NARAL Pro-Choice California found overwhelming support statewide for increased regulation of CPCs with more than half of voters backing the measures proposed in the FACT Act.

“This common sense legislation enjoys overwhelming support,” said Amy Everitt, Director of NARAL Pro-Choice California, a co-sponsor of the bill. “We urge the Governor to sign it immediately and stand up for women of California who have been defrauded by CPCs for long enough.”

The fight for clear and accurate information for pregnant women has long been a fight for women’s rights activists. Last year in response to a campaign by NARAL Pro-Choice America and efforts by the Feminist Majority Foundation to expose fake clinics, Google removed deceptive crisis pregnancy center (CPC) advertisements from search engine results when users seek information about abortion services. Most of the advertisements claimed that the CPCs provided abortions when they did not.

Media Resources: NARAL Pro-Choice Press Release 9/14/15; Feminist Newswire 5/27/15; 4/39/14;

Anti-Abortion Group Loses Last Ditch Attempt to Avoid Legal Process

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled yesterday that the anti-abortion group calling itself the Center for Medical Progress must provide documents and respond to questions concerning deceptive videos the group produced to mislead the public about Planned Parenthood.

In July, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) filed a federal lawsuit against CMP, its leader David Daleiden, and CMP board member and Operation Rescue president Troy Newman alleging civil conspiracy, racketeering, fraud and breach of contract. This lawsuit follows the distribution of falsified, misleading videos suggesting NAF members, including Planned Parenthood, illegally sold fetal tissue.

There is no evidence that Planned Parenthood has ever sold fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood clinics in two states (making up only one percent of Planned Parenthood health centers in the country) allow patients to participate in legal fetal tissue donation programs. Fetal tissue donation contributes to groundbreaking medical research.

Federal District Court Judge William Orrick extended a temporary restraining order in August on behalf of NAF, prohibiting Daleiden, Newman, CMP, and Biomax, another defendant involved in the CMP scheme, from releasing any videos, documents, or other confidential information obtained from NAF Annual Meetings. This information included the dates and locations of future meetings. Judge Orrick also ordered defendants to produce discovery, documents and other materials that will aid in resolving the legal dispute between the parties.

Defendants immediately petitioned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, opposing the discovery request, and notified the district court that they would plead the Fifth Amendment, a protection against self-incrimination. The Ninth Circuit briefly suspended the discovery order while it reviewed the anti-abortion group’s petition. Its decision yesterday means that the defendants must comply with Judge Orrick’s order and produce documents and submit to questioning.

Judge Orrick ruled earlier this month that CMP and Biomax could not plead the Fifth to avoid complying with NAF’s requests for discovery. Judge Orrick also ruled that Daleiden and Newman could not use the Fifth Amendment to assert a blanket refusal to answer all questions posed by NAF. Instead, as individuals, they can plead the Fifth only on a question-by-question basis, allowing NAF to challenge each instance and the Court to rule on a question-by-question basis whether Fifth Amendment protections apply.

The temporary restraining order against CMP, Biomax, Daleiden, and Newman remains in effect.

Media Resources: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 9/23/15; Feminist Newswire 9/21/15, 9/1/15, 8/6/15; National Abortion Federation Press Release 8/25/15, 7/31/15

PPFA President Agrees to Testify Before House Committee; House Dems Demand CMP Testify, Too

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards has agreed to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is chaired by Reps. John Chaffetz (R-UT).

The House Committee is “investigating” allegations against Planned Parenthood after the release of highly edited and misleading videos from anti-choice group calling itself the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) claiming the organization profits from fetal tissue donation. The claims have been repeatedly proved to be false, and House Democrats are calling for CMP testify before the House Committee, too.

In a statement issued Monday, Planned Parenthood spokesperson and Vice President Eric Ferrero said Richards expects to be invited to the hearing on Sept. 29 and “if invited, she will accept that invitation.”

“We look forward to sharing the facts with this committee,” Ferrero continued, “which include that fetal tissue donation for medical research is an important but tiny part of Planned Parenthood’s work in just two states, that we’ve had guidance in place for more than a decade in this area that goes well beyond the legal requirements, and that even doctored and discredited videos show no wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood.”

Meanwhile, in a letter to Chaffetz, all 18 Oversight Committee Democrats urged Republican members to call David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Process (CMP), to testify as well, alleging the Committee, many of whom belong to the House Freedom Caucus, a far-right faction of the GOP, have engaged in a “biased, one-sided attack” against the women’s healthcare provider in the wake of several fraudulent videos released by CMP this summer. Should the Committee refuse House Democrats’ request, they have vowed to call Daleiden to testify at a separate hearing that same day.

“We believe it is fundamentally unfair to hold a public hearing to essentially indict Planned Parenthood in the court of public opinion without hearing directly from their accuser, David Daleiden, who deceptively edited secretly-recorded videos in an ultimately unsuccessful three-year crusade to entrap Planned Parenthood,” the Democrats wrote.

Though not officially announced, the hearing is expected to be held the day before the House votes on the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government. In recent weeks, House Republicans have threatened to shut the government down unless the government cuts funding to Planned Parenthood.

Media Resources: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Press Release 9/21/15; Feminist Newswire 9/21/15;

Senate Democrats Block Restrictive 20-Week Abortion Ban

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

Senate Democrats yesterday blocked a restrictive 20-week abortion ban, which had passed the House in May, in a cloture vote 54 to 42. To pass this ban, Republicans needed a super-majority of 60 votes. Senate leadership had decided that the motion would be a cloture vote, requiring 60 votes to pass.

The vote fell mostly on party lines, with the majority of Republicans voting for it and a majority of Democrats voting against it. There were a few acceptions: Democrats Casey (PA), Manchin (WV), and Donnelly (IN) voted for the bill and Republicans Collins (ME) and Kirk (IL) voted against it.

HR 36, which passed through the House in May, is a restrictive 20-week abortion ban would force rape survivors under 18 years of age seeking abortion care to report the crime to authorities. For survivors over the age of 18, the only option other than reporting the crime to authorities under this restrictive bill is for the woman to seek medical attention or counseling at least 48 hours before their procedure at a location other than where they plan to have their procedure. This requires seeking two separate providers- one for medical attention or counseling and one for an abortion – and is expensive, unrealistic, and overly burdensome. There is no exception to the requirement to report rape or incest for minors.

This bill was originally brought to the House floor in January, but House Republicans were forced to pull the bill just before midnight due to concerns from Republican women about reporting requirements for rape and incest survivors. Although sponsors of the bill claim that these concerns have been addressed, HR 36 still includes immensely onerous steps for women seeking abortion care to go through.

Although the overwhelming majority of voters, both Democrats and Republicans alike, feel that this is the wrong issue for Congress to be spending its time on, Republicans in Congress have made it clear from the beginning of the year that limiting women’s access to comprehensive health and reproductive care is a top priority. House Speaker John Boehner referred to this 20-week ban as one of the most important priorities for Congress.

Media Resources: Senate Roll Call 9/22/15; Feminist Newswire 5/15/15; 1/22/15; PlannedParenthood.org; Cincinnati News 3/25/15;

University of Texas’ Choice of Athletic Director Reveals Deep Inequality

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

Mike Perrin, a lawyer and former college football player, was chosen as the new interim athletic director for University of Texas over Chris Plonsky, a woman who has worked in the athletic department of the university for a quarter of a century. The announcement of this decision has many pointing to the lingering gender gaps in athletics at the collegiate level and beyond.

Decades after Title IX was passed in an attempt to address and prevent sex discrimination, statistics show there is a major disparity between male and female head coaches in college athletics. According to NCAA reporting, more than 80 percent of men still make up Division I collegiate head coaches, and of a total 313 Division I athletic directors, only 37 are women. As the New York Times reported:

“It’s not that women aren’t qualified, or that Texas has something specific against hiring [Plonsky] for its top job. It’s just that the sad numbers don’t lie.”

North Carolina State athletic director Debbie Yow, one of only three women in the country employed as full-time athletic directors, understands these hurdles and says “if you want to overcome that barrier, here’s a strategy: Wipe that question mark right out of their heads.”

This is easier said than done, as women at both the collegiate and professional level face massive inequalities. As Meg Linehan of Vice Sports reported, the salaries for professional athletes in the National Women’s Soccer League and the National Women’s Hockey League are below the poverty line. Similarly, more established women’s leagues like the WNBA are paid enormously less than their male counterparts.

The United States’ women’s soccer team made headlines this summer for both bringing home the FIFA World Cup trophy, but also for lingering disparities in pay coverage between the men’s and women’s teams. In this summer’s world cup tournament alone, the US world champions of the women’s World Cup earned collectively $15 million- a stark difference from the $576 million earned collectively by the US men’s team, who lost in the first round of the tournament last year.

At the same time, tiny victories are taking place for women in athletics. Jen Welter was hired as a coach for the Arizona Cardinals this summer, becoming the first woman to be an NFL coach. And just this season, Sarah Thomas was named the first female referee official for the NFL. San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon also made history as the first woman to coach an NBA team.

Media Resources: The New York Times 9/15/15; Feminist Campus Blog 6/25/12; Vice Sports 8/25/15; 8/12/15; Esquire 7/7/15; Bloomberg View 4/2/15; Jezebel 7/6/15; Feminist Newswire 7/29/15;

Federal Court Rules Anti-Abortion Group Can’t Plead the Fifth

Posted on September 21, 2015September 22, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

A federal judge ruled last week that the anti-abortion group calling itself the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and BioMax, the two defendants in a lawsuit filed by the National Abortion Federation (NAF) in response to the release of several fraudulent “sting” videos, cannot invoke the Fifth Amendment in order to avoid NAF’s requests for discovery.

In a defeat for CMP and Biomax, Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court of Northern California in San Francisco, ordered that both organizations must comply with the court’s requests for documents and other potential pieces of evidence. No U.S. court has allowed a corporation to plead the Fifth Amendment, a protection against self-incrimination.

“It’s telling that the defendants have been very vocal in the media saying that they have nothing to hide, yet in federal court they want to plead the Fifth,” said NAF President Vicki Saporta. “We are pleased with the results of today’s hearing and are eager to move forward with the discovery process.”

Both CMP founder, David Daleiden, and Troy Newman, head of Operation Rescue and one of CMP’s founding officers, had previously indicated that they intend to plead the Fifth, as individual defendants. The Court rejected their argument that they should be able to use a blanket Fifth Amendment protection against all questions posed by NAF, but that they could assert Fifth Amendment rights on a question-by-question basis. Judge Orrick made clear, however, that plaintiffs could challenge the assertion of the Fifth Amendment and that the Court would rule on a question-by-question basis whether Fifth Amendment protections applied.

In July, NAF filed a lawsuit against extremist organization CMP and Biomax alleging civil conspiracy, racketeering, fraud and breach of contract, following the wide distribution of falsified videos suggesting NAF members, including Planned Parenthood, illegally sold fetal tissue. There is no evidence that Planned Parenthood has ever sold fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood clinics in two states (making up only one percent of Planned Parenthood health centers in the country) allow patients to participate in legal fetal tissue donation programs.

The decision by Judge Orrick marks another victory for NAF and Planned Parenthood as anti-abortion extremists continue to blur the lines of fact and fiction. Last month, the court granted NAF a temporary restraining order against CMP, Biomax, Daleiden, and Newman

Media Resources: National Abortion Federation Press Release 9/18/15; RH Reality Check 9/18/15; Law360 9/14/15; Feminist Newswire 9/1/15, 8/6/15

Feminist Groups Oppose FratPAC Bill

Posted on September 21, 2015September 22, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

Feminist groups, student activists, and survivor advocates announced their opposition to the proposed Safe Campus Act of 2015, also known as the “FratPAC bill,” at a House subcommittee hearing on “Preventing and Responding to Sexual Assault on College Campuses” earlier this month.

The bill, backed by the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee (FratPAC), is sponsored by Representatives Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Kay Granger (R-TX), and Pete Sessions (R-TX). The bill would make it more difficult for colleges and universities to address campus sexual assault by requiring survivors to report incidents of sexual assault to a law enforcement agency before a school could investigate sexual assault allegations. Even then, schools could not institute disciplinary proceedings against an alleged attacker until the law enforcement agency completes its investigation, a process that could take several months and sometimes years.

“This measure is designed to drastically reduce the ability of schools to respond to sexual violence allegations at all,” said Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) President Eleanor Smeal and FMF Director of Policy & Research Gaylynn Burroughs in a statement submitted to the subcommittee. “Blocking a school from fully addressing sexual violence complaints is . . . not only misguided, it undermines the intent and purpose of Title IX.”

Only 12 percent of college student-survivors report to the police, with male survivors reporting at lower rates than women. “If you’re looking for a way to not have students report – not only just to the school, but also to law enforcement – make it mandatory,” said Lisa Maatz, Vice President for Government Relations at the American Association of University Women who testified at the hearing.

Instead of using an approach that disempowers survivors and prevents schools from protecting the safety and rights of their students, Maatz advocated for adoption of the Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act (SOS Campus Act), sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA). Under the SOS Campus Act, “Schools would establish an independent, on-campus advocate to support survivors of sexual assault. Advocates would connect survivors with resources including emergency and follow-up medical and counseling care, how to report to law enforcement if they so choose, and information about legal rights on campus and off.”

Students from Stanford University held up signs at the hearing protesting the FratPAC bill, and Know Your IX actively opposed the bill, calling the legislation the “Unsafe Campus Act.” School administrators have also largely criticized the bill, including Dr. Penny Rue, Vice President for Campus Life at Wake Forest University, who testified before the subcommittee.

With one in five women students experiencing a rape or attempted rape during her time in college, feminist groups are calling on Congress to strengthen Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Act, both of which are critical tools helping students and schools address sexual assault on campus. Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally-funded education program and activities, obligates schools to take immediate and appropriate steps to investigate possible incidents of sexual assault on campus, determine what occurred, and, if necessary, take prompt and effective steps to remedy the situation, eliminate the hostile environment, and prevent its recurrence. Title IX protects all students from sex discrimination, including men and LGBTQ students, and helps to promote a safe and equitable educational environment.

The Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing Title IX. Between FY 2009 and FY 2014, complaints to OCR involving sexual violence on college campuses increased by more than 1000 percent. OCR plays an important role in remediating Title IX violations and encouraging schools to take voluntary steps toward implementing action plans to reduce sexual violence on campus. The flood of complaints and lack of adequate resources, however, have led to delays in OCR investigations. Legislation, such as the Hold Accountable and Lend Transparency (HALT) Campus Sexual Violence Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) would, among other things, give OCR more resources to ensure thorough and timely Title IX investigations.

Media Resources: House of Representatives Committed on Education & the Workforce 9/10.15; Huffington Post 9/10/15; Feminist Newswire 6/4/15; Department of Education, Letter to Senator Boxer 4/28/15

BREAKING: House Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

In a 241-187 vote, the House of Representatives voted this afternoon, mostly on party lines with Republicans for and Democrats against, to strip federal funding of Planned Parenthood for a full year. The House also voted 248-177 to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which threatens doctors with new criminal penalties, up to five years in jail, for providing legal abortion.

“Once again, the Republican majority demonstrated it is hell-bent to restrict abortion rights for women and to scare doctors out of providing this constitutional, necessary and often life-saving procedure for countless women,” exclaimed Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority.

The Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), is the latest in a series of anti-abortion measures introduced by Republican lawmakers to eliminate funding to the nation’s leading reproductive health care provider following the release of several fraudulent videos by the Center for Medical Progress. Despite no evidence that there is any truth to the videos’ claims that Planned Parenthood is illegally selling fetal tissue, Republicans insisted on eliminating funding that enables millions of women, especially low-income women, to access health care.

Given that Planned Parenthood provides quality, affordable reproductive health care to 2.7 million women, men and teens at approximately 700 health centers nationwide, the stakes could not be higher.

Media Resources: U.S. House of Representatives; Feminist Newswire 9/17/15

Virginia Board of Health Rolls Back Restrictive TRAP Law

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

In a major win for Virginia women, the Board of Health voted yesterday to rescind a restrictive and medically unnecessary abortion clinic standard law that threatened 18 clinics across the state.

The VA Board of Health voted 9-6 to roll-back the Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) rules, which would have required existing abortion and women’s health clinics to adhere to strict and costly hospital-like guidelines. Critics of the TRAP laws point out that these guidelines are medically unnecessary, and abortion rights advocates called the guidelines a politically-motivated effort to block access to legal and safe abortion.

The decision drew great praise from pro-choice Virginia groups, as well as many medical professionals working in the state.

“This victory means so much for Virginia women. I’m happy the Board of Health heard us and listened to the countless medical professionals and advocates who have worked so hard to protect Virginia health clinics,” said Alyssa Seidorf, a National Campus Organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation. “One of the most powerful testimonies yesterday came from a student activist from the University of Mary Washington. She reflected on, as a student and as a young woman, the importance of access to the wide variety of services that women’s health clinics provide.”

Board certified maternal fetal medicine specialist Dr. Jessica DeMay said of the decision “It’s not enough to simply slow the attacks on women’s health.” DeMay added, “While I am deeply relieved that Virginia’s currently-existing women’s health centers will no longer be subject to restrictions designed specifically to shut them down, we still have more work to do to ensure that new women’s health centers can open in Virginia and provide critical medical care to thousands of women and families who need it—without inappropriate or politically-motivated barriers.”

Virginia Commissioner of Health Dr. Marissa Levine recommended that Virginia’s harsh TRAP rules restricting abortion access be amended last year. This recommendation followed a review by Virginia Governor Terry McAuiliffe, who called the rules “extreme and punitive,” warning that they could endanger women’s health.

Media Resources: Washington Post 9/17/15; NARAL Pro Choice Virginia Press Release 9/17/15; Feminist Newswire 10/2/14;

House to Vote This Week on ‘Defund Planned Parenthood Act’

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

This week, House Representatives are expected to vote on a bill which would suspend funding to Planned Parenthood for one year in order for Congress to further investigate the organization.

The Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), is the latest in a series of anti-choice measures introduced by conservative lawmakers to eliminate funding to the nation’s leading reproductive health care provider following the release of several fraudulent videos by the Center of Medical Progress.

The videos, deceptively edited, claim to capture the illegal sale of fetal tissue, a charge that has been dis-proven repeatedly. Experts, including an investigative reporter for the FBI- have now discredited the videos in a formal report to Congress. Additionally, state agency representatives from Georgia, South Dakota, Florida, Indiana, and Massachusetts have independently confirmed that all five states have not violated any laws.

Despite no evidence of wrongdoing (several congressional probes and investigations of Planned Parenthood in a dozen states have turned up nothing to date), Republicans insist on targeting the organization. In addition to Black’s proposed bill, which would bar federal funding to any entity that provides abortions with exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of the woman, 31 House Republicans (all of them men) have pledged to oppose any federal spending bill and risk government shutdown unless the legislation blocks funding to Planned Parenthood as well.

Given that Planned Parenthood provides quality, affordable reproductive health care to 2.7 million women, men and teens at approximately 700 health centers nationwide, the stakes could not be higher.

“Now that the false claims against Planned Parenthood have fallen apart, politicians are heartlessly scrambling to attack women’s access to health care however they can,” said Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Eric Ferrero. “It’s clear those behind these attacks have always had a clear agenda: to ban abortion, and cut millions of women and men across the country from necessary reproductive care.”

Media Resources: RH Reality Check 9/14/15; 8/13/15; US News 9/15/15; NPR 8/27/15

Over 200 Business Professors Urge Congress to Support Paid Leave Law

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

In an unprecedented effort to spur legislative action, 203 professors from the nation’s highest ranking business schools sent Congress a letter Tuesday, urging the passage of the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, a law which would guarantee up to 12 weeks of partial income for employees on medical leave. Currently, a mere 13 percent of US workers receive paid family leave and less than 40 percent have access to paid medical leave.

The letter, signed by deans and professors from 88 revered institutions nationwide including The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, detail the benefits enjoyed by businesses that offer paid leave such as reduced turnover, controlled costs and increased productivity. This year, industry titans like Microsoft, Adobe and Nestle, expanded their paid leave policies, citing employee retention and recruitment as motivating factors.

Moreover, the authors underscore the positive impact of paid leave on employed women (who comprise nearly half of the paid U.S. labor force) and their families. In the year following the birth of a child, for example, new mothers with access to paid leave are more likely to stay in the workforce than those without and 54 percent are more likely to see wage increases as a result. Families in California, where statewide paid family leave policies like those proposed by the FAMILY Act have prospered since 2004, report positive effects on their ability to care for their children.

Today, the letter’s authors are confident the FAMILY Act will build on the successes of California’s paid leave program, as well as that of New Jersey and Rhode Island, creating a nationwide system of support “for all workers, no matter where they live or work.”

“At a time when companies are increasingly making paid leave policy changes to support their employees and the president just expressed his support for a national paid leave law for the first time, we, as a nation, have an opportunity to adopt a policy that supports the populations, workforces and businesses of today and tomorrow,” said Dr. Stewart D. Friedman, director of the Wharton School’s Work/Life Integration Project and the letter’s lead author. “The FAMILY Act is that policy.”

Media Resources: National Partnership Press Release 9/15/15; Wharton UPenn Letter 9/15/15; Pew Research Center 1/14/15;

The White House Launches College Scorecard System

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Feminist Newswire

In an address on Saturday President Obama unveiled a new College Scorecard that ranks colleges and universities across the country, aiming to empower students in their college search.

The website allows students to look up the cost, graduation and retention rates, average debt, as well as a student’s average salary after graduation for nearly 7,000 schools across the country. It also acts as a comparison tool based on search terms including size, location, and degree programs available.

Beginning in 2013, Obama sought to create a college rating system to help students decide which schools deliver “the biggest bang for your buck.” He hoped this would hold schools accountable to keep tuition affordable and invest in their students. After receiving some push-back from higher education professionals, the focus shifted from ranking colleges to providing comprehensive data to students and their families.

When announcing the new website, the President said, “As college costs and student debt keep rising, the choices that Americans make when searching for and selecting a college have never been more important. That’s why everyone should be able to find clear, reliable, open data on college affordability and value – like whether they’re likely to graduate, find good jobs, and pay off their loans.”

With the influx of data available to the public, the gender gap in earning becomes apparent for individual schools. An analysis by the New York Times shows the stark differences in average earning between male and female graduates from some of the top schools in the country. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), shows a $58,100 difference of salary ten years after graduation for male and female students. Following close behind are Stanford University, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania. As the NYT wrote, “Women who enrolled at Harvard are making as much as men who enrolled at Tufts.”

According to the White House, the Scorecard will be updated based on feedback from students, parents, counselors, and colleges.

Media Resources: The White House 9/12/15; Washington Post 8/23/13; New York Times 9/12/15; 9/13/15;