Women on Waves brings women who are up to ten weeks pregnant on board the boat and carries them 12 miles into international water where they take the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol, which are more than 90 percent effective for women early in pregnancy.
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Water Protectors Forced Out of Dakota Access Pipeline Campsite
Though the few hundred protesters were forced off of the federal land where Oceti Sakowin was stationed, many have vowed to move to the other camps as organizers promise that new camps are popping up on private lands, and that the protest will continue.
Trump Rescinds Obama Administration Protections for Transgender Students
In a joint letter from the Department of Justice and Department of Education, the Trump administration claimed that the Obama administration had not sought proper legal analysis or provided appropriate explanation for why these protections were guaranteed under Title IX.
Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill to Block Abortion Providers from Title X Funding
HB 2264 would have specifically cut off Title X funding to organizations that perform abortion despite the fact that Title X funding does not directly pay for those services due to the longstanding Hyde Amendment, instead funding STI/STD testing, cancer screenings and birth control access for women who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford health insurance.
Expanded Global Gag Rule Already Threatening Lives
Since Donald Trump reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule his first week in the White House, public health non-governmental organizations (NGO), international governments, and even USAID have been scrambling to pick up the pieces and figure out exactly how far reaching this executive order goes.
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Government Moves Forward with Mass Deportation Agenda
The memos include directives to expand the group of undocumented immigrants prioritized for deportation, expedite removals, and recruit or deputize thousands of additional law enforcement agents to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants.
Senate Confirms Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the EPA
Pruitt, a self-proclaimed “leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda,” is an avid climate change denier, fossil fuel supporter and collaborator with oil and gas companies.
Puzder Withdraws and a New Labor Secretary is Nominated
Today, President Trump announced Alexander Acosta, a former federal judge and current law school dean, as his nominee to serve as secretary of the Department of Labor following Andrew Puzder’s Wednesday afternoon withdrawal of his nomination.
House Moves to Rescind Protection for Women’s Health Centers
This week the House Rules Committee sent legislation to the House floor that would rescind an Obama administration rule, finalized in December, that is meant to block states from cutting off federal funding to organizations that offer abortion care, ensuring that women’s health centers continue to receive Title X funds for other health services including STI/STD testing, cancer screenings and birth control access.
Planned Parenthood Supporters Appear in Thousands to Counter-Protest Anti-Abortion Groups
Nearly 150 collections of Planned Parenthood supporters turned out, ranging in size from dozens to thousands at parks, government buildings, and clinics in 45 states, and oftentimes even outnumbered the amount of anti-abortion protesters.
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Advocates Urge Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to Protect and Enforce Title IX
People across the country today are participating in a national day of action, calling the Department of Education to ask that new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos uphold the civil rights of all students by protecting and enforcing Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally-funded education programs.
Threats and Violence Against Abortion Providers Has Skyrocketed, According to FMF Survey
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) has released the results of the 2016 National Clinic Violence Survey, an analysis of the anti-abortion violence, intimidation and harassment that occurred at women’s health clinics across the country in the first six months of 2016.
Afghanistan Sees Increase in Conflict Related Civilian Casualties
According to the UNAMA annual report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, civilian casualties in Afghanistan increased by 3.7% last year, comprising 11,418 conflict-related civilian casualties with 3,498 killed and 7,920 injured. Since 2009 the conflict in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 24,841 civilians and injured 45,347.
Arizona May Soon Require Abortion Providers to Check for “Evidence of Life”
Abortion providers and advocates are concerned that this bill will further the undue burdens placed on providers, preventing safe and legal access to abortion services.
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Senate Leaders, Workers, and Advocates Call for Withdrawal of Puzder Nomination for Labor Secretary
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined with fast food workers and advocates to call for the withdrawal of Andrew Puzder as nominee for Secretary of Labor.
Jeff Sessions Confirmed as Attorney General
On Wednesday evening, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions was confirmed as US Attorney General with a final vote of 52-47, after nearly thirty hours of debate, during which Democratic senators voiced their strong opposition to Sessions’ confirmation.
Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Education
“This is the first time in American history that a Vice President has ever had make a tie-breaking vote to confirm a Cabinet nominee, showing just how weak DeVos’ position really is,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation. “Every single Senator who voted “Yes” is personally responsible for the deciding vote, and those of us concerned with equity in education will not soon forget it.”
Boy Scouts Drops Ban on Admitting Transgender Boys
Moving forward, the program will base admission off of the gender listed by the child or parent on the application, rather than the sex listed on the child’s birth certificate, as was the practice previously.
Treasury Secretary Nominee Mnuchin to Have Confirmation Vote this Week
“Mnuchin profited off of kicking people out of their homes and then gave false testimony about his bank’s abusive practices,” said Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). “He cannot be trusted to make decisions about policies as personal to working Ohioans as their taxes and retirement.”
Arkansas Governor Signs Offensive and Dangerous Anti-Abortion Bill
Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas recently signed into law a bill that allows the husband of a woman seeking an abortion to sue his wife’s doctor, either for monetary gain or in order to place an injunction on the procedure, essentially allowing a man to refuse his partner access to an abortion.