This Friday marks the 91st anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S. Yes, many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived in a time when they weren’t allowed to vote. And for African Americans, the right to vote didn’t truly come into full effect until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But now, armed with that […]
HERVotes: Why Women Must Vote in 2012
This blog is part of the #HERvotes blog carnival. The Feminist Majority Foundation is proud to join a major coalition of organizations, HERvotes, which is growing, representing millions of American women in an effort to mobilize women voters in 2012 around preserving women’s Health and Economic rights. Right now, a slew of historic gains for women […]
A Preventive Health Care Game-Changer for Women
By Kari Paul In a huge victory for women’s health, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report today advised that birth control and seven other women’s health services should be considered “preventive care” and be covered by health insurance with no co-pay. The institute’s recommendations for no-cost coverage also include yearly preventative-care visits; lactation counseling and […]
Virginity Tests: Time to Let Gender Out of Revolution’s Closet
There is no doubt that the recent revolution in Egypt got the wheels of the Arab Spring rolling. But just as quickly as women flooded the corners of Tahrir Square and the streets of Cairo in the hopes of a democratic Egypt, their voices were sidelined. This is not uncommon. Even in conservative countries, we […]
Eleanor Smeal Tribute to Geraldine Ferarro
We are saddened today to learn of the death of Geraldine Ferraro. She was an historic feminist, a compassionate humanitarian and a role model for generations of women and girls seeking to break the glass ceiling. She was a champion for women’s rights during her three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, but of […]
President’s 2012 Budget – a Striking Contrast to Republicans for Women’s Programs
Today President Obama released his 2012 Budget, which poses a direct contrast to the massive cuts to programs that benefit women and girls proposed by House Republican in the Continuing Resolution (CR) for funding FY 2011. The proposed budget would decrease funding for the Department of Defense by $78 billion over the next five years, […]
Republican House Leaders Launch New War on Women
Republicans propose massive cuts in programs that benefit women as they propose increases in Defense spending of $8.1 billion. The House begins consideration of the Continuing Resolution (CR) for funding FY 2011 without which the government will shut down on March 4. Republicans would eliminate Title X domestic family planning programs with a massive cut […]
Life at Conception Act Introduced in the Senate
Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Life at Conception Act in the Senate yesterday that would establish that human life begins at the moment of conception. If passed, the bill would extend equal protection under 14th article of amendment of the Constitution to unborn fetuses and would reverse Roe v. Wade, […]
Boehner Bias?
On Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi handed over the speaker’s gavel to John Boehner, who is charged with leading the “Tea Party Congress” in their efforts to repeal health care reform, disband the Select Committee on Global Warming, defund Planned Parenthood and do a bunch of other things that people who have never held elected office think […]
Sheriff Decries Consequences of Inflammatory “Vitriol” After Tucson Shooting
Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords is fighting for her life in a Tucson hospital after having been shot in the head by a gunman while she conducted a “Congress on Your Corner” event in front of a market. Although she was listed in very critical condition after surgery, Dr. Peter Rhee, medical director of the trauma […]
Election Results 2010 – The Gender Gap Lives
Don’t believe anything you might have read to the contrary: The gender gap was alive and well in the 2010 midterm elections. That gap—the measurable difference between the way women and men vote—showed clearly in 25 of 26 U.S. Senate races and 17 of 18 gubernatorial races for which exit polls were conducted. (There were […]
Sneak Peek at the new Spring Ms.: 5 of the 25 Gains for Women in the Health-Care Bill
Feminists didn’t get everything we wanted in the historic health-insurance reform package passed in March: The lack of a public option and limits on abortion coverage were the most glaring setbacks, and a single-payer system wasn’t even considered. But bottom line, an additional 32 million Americans will gain health-care coverage—meaning that the vast majority in […]
Unbelievable: Stupak Hijacking Health Care Reform Again!!
News broke late Friday night that Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) was brokering a deal with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to ban all abortion coverage in the health-care reform bill. You may be feeling deja vu. Backed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Stupak pulled the same trick–an 11th hour meeting with Pelosi–to […]
Feminists Rally on Capitol Hill Against Stupak/Pitts
Hundreds of feminist activists from around the country gathered today on Capitol Hill to rally against the anti-abortion Stupak/Pitts amendment to the health insurance reform bill. The lobby day was presented by the Stop Stupak Coalition, which is also sponsoring a week of action that started Monday. The coalition includes 53 partners that form “a […]
More Outrage Over Stupak-Pitts
“Our medical experts have determined that your life was not in danger and you could have carried the pregnancy to term. And, by the way, you owe us $9,000.”
Election Results 2009—Wake Up Call for Social Progressives and Feminists
In both the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, social issues took a back seat to economic issues. This is understandable considering dismal unemployment figures, the housing crisis, fear of layoffs, and dwindling retirement investments. Bad economic times trump social issues.
Will We Ignore Brooksley Born AGAIN?
Eleven years ago, U.S. economic leaders should have listened to Brooksley Born. Then head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Born was concerned about new and unregulated futures markets. They were growing at tremendous rates, yet their risks were not fully understood. She was especially wary of the lack of transparency in trading over-the-counter […]
Hard Times = Hard Choices
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute gives useful empirical backing for what most people already know: Bad economic times like the present significantly affect individual’s and couple’s reproductive decisions. (In fact, the only people who don’t seem to grasp this intuitively are rightwing Republicans
Feminist Movement Loses a Dear Friend and Champion
Statement of Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal on the Death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy For decades, Senator Edward M. Kennedy was a champion of women’s rights. For years, when few other Senators would take women’s rights seriously, the women’s movement could count on Senator Kennedy. In struggle after struggle, the women’s movement could turn […]
Crisis of Deception: Fake Clinics Spread Misinformation on the Federal Dime
The powerful House Appropriations Labor Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee conducted hearings on its FY 2010 spending bill. President Obama has made his intentions clear. The President’s FY 2010 budget calls for a return to science-based initiatives and an end to federal funding for abstinence-only education programs. The question is will Congress follow his […]
