Peru’s public prosecutor Marcelia Gutiérrez declined to prosecute former president Alberto Fujimori and his health ministers for the forced sterilization of hundreds of thousands of people in the late 1990s.
Texas’ Revised Pamphlet for Women Seeking Abortion Still Full of Innaccuracies
The state of Texas released a new draft of an informational pamphlet on abortion—and it contains numerous inaccuracies and biased information advocates say is meant to shame and scare women.
2016 International AIDS Conference Focuses on Access to Treatment
South Africa is hosting the 2016 International AIDS Conference this week, bringing together policy makers, healthcare professionals and persons living with HIV to evaluate the current state of the pandemic and plot a course for moving forward.
Investing in Teenage Girls on World Population Day
The theme of this year’s World Population Day, a United Nations initiative to focus attention on the urgency of population issues, is “Investing in Teenage Girls.”
Lawsuit Targets Gender Discrimination in Workers’ Compensation
Three California women filed a class-action lawsuit on Wednesday accusing the state workers’ compensation system of explicit and unfair gender bias.
House Investigation of Abortion Providers Set to Exceed $1 Million
According to the House Administration Committee, the Select Investigative Panel scrutinizing abortion providers is requesting around $500,000 to continue its probe into the practices of the organizations. If approved, the total cost of the investigation will exceed one million dollars by the end of the year.
New Report Finds Doctors Who Sexually Abuse Patients Receive Little Punishment
The Atlantic Journal-Constitution released a year-long investigative report on Tuesday documenting the minimal punishments doctors who have been found guilty of sexual abuse receive.
Title X Threatened When It’s Needed to Combat Zika
The House Appropriations Committee introduced a draft of a funding proposal for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies that cuts all monetary support for Title X programs.
South Carolina “Personhood Amendment” Fails to Make it on the Ballot
A South Carolina bill that would have put a referendum for a “personhood amendment” on the ballot in November fell short of the necessary two-thirds votes needed to bring it up for consideration on the Senate agenda before the end of June.
SCOTUS Saves Sole Abortion Clinic in Mississippi
The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the sole abortion clinic left standing in Mississippi, won a major Supreme Court victory Tuesday after the Court declined to hear Mississippi’s appeal to enforce a state law requiring hospital admitting privileges for doctors performing abortions, similar to the Texas law the Court struck down on Monday.
New York City Council Greatly Expands Access to Menstrual Hygiene Products
The New York City Council passed legislation that will provide access to free menstrual hygiene products such as pads and tampons in public schools, homeless shelters, and the city’s correctional facilities.
FDA Expands Access to Medication Abortion
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made mifepristone (the early option of abortion by pills, or medication abortion) more accessible to women, but still kept in place unnecessary regulations.
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Birth Control Case
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday—the 6th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—on whether religiously affiliated non-profits can use their religious beliefs to discriminate against women by blocking health insurance coverage for birth control.
House Oversight Committee Holds Hearings on Flint Water Crisis
As the aid package to help Flint residents is stalled in Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held hearings this week to investigate what actions—or inaction—led to the water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan that produced a spike in lead poisoning and other health issues.
Obama Declares State of Emergency in Flint Water Crisis
President Obama has declared a state of emergency in Flint, Michigan after a water contamination crisis produced a spike in lead poisoning and other health issues, including possibly Legionnaire’s disease, in the city
President Obama Vetoes Bill Defunding Planned Parenthood & Repealing Affordable Care Act
President Obama vetoed a measure today that would defund Planned Parenthood for one year and repeal key provisions in the Affordable Care Act.
New NY Law Permits Pregnant Women to Enroll in Health Care Plans At Any Time
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed a new bill into law allowing pregnant women to gain access to health care at any time, eliminating the previous requirement that they wait for open enrollment periods to purchase health insurance.
UN Reports Major Decrease In Maternal Mortality Worldwide
A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division reveals a 44 percent drop in maternal mortality worldwide since 1990.
ACA Birth Control Benefit Heads Back to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear arguments from religiously affiliated non-profits challenging women’s right to access insurance coverage for birth control under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
American Indian Women Granted Increased Access To Emergency Contraception
Indian Health Services decides: American Indian women will finally have improved access to emergency contraception.