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.
Congresswomen Launch First Ever Caucus on Black Women & Girls
Congresswomen Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) launched the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls yesterday, the first caucus to focus specifically on ways to combat discrimination and reduce disparities faced by Black women.
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback Moves to Defund Planned Parenthood
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has formally notified Planned Parenthood that it will ban the healthcare provider from the state’s Medicaid program, following through on a pledge made by Governor Sam Brownback earlier this year.
Senate Holds Backpage in Contempt of Congress in Sex Trafficking Investigation
The Senate voted Thursday to hold Backpage.com—a classifieds site—in contempt of Congress after the company refused to appear at a child sex trafficking hearing in November or produce relevant documents. The 96-0 vote was the Senate’s first vote for civil contempt charges in two decades.
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.
Senate Judiciary Committee Considers Two Anti-Abortion Bills
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on two anti-abortion bills that seek to prohibit abortion and criminalize physicians.
Over 800,000 Federal Contract Workers Will Receive Paid Sick Days Under Proposed Rule
Acting on an executive order introduced by President Barack Obama last year, the Department of Labor issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking recently, outlining a strategy to secure paid leave for an estimated 828,000 federal contract workers, more than half of whom currently receive no paid sick days at all.
Federal Court Rejects Title IX Claim Made By Columbia Student Accused of Sexual Assault
A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit on Friday from a former Columbia University student who claimed that the university had violated Title IX by failing to protect him after one of his accusers, Emma Sulkowicz, publicly protested the university’s failure to find him responsible for sexual misconduct.
Supreme Court Reverses Alabama Ruling Against Gay Adoption
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that every state must recognize the parental rights of same-sex parents who legally adopt a child. The decision reverses an Alabama Supreme Court decision that refused to recognize the parental rights of a lesbian mother who adopted three children in Georgia in 2007.
Louisiana Politicians Pre-File Anti-Abortion Bills
Even as the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday blocked enforcement of a Louisiana TRAP law that would have left the state with only one abortion provider, anti-abortion politicians continue to propose an onslaught of legislation that could shutter the state’s four remaining abortion clinics for good.
Activists to Senate Republicans: Do Your Job
Nearly 100 civil rights, women’s rights, environmental, labor and social justice organizations bsent a letter last week to 11 Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to fulfill their constitutional duty to help vet and confirm a new Supreme Court justice following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Man Pleads Guilty To Threatening Minnesota Abortion Clinics
Anti-abortion extremist Michael John Harris pled guilty on Wednesday to threatening to kill staff, patients, and doctors at two Minnesota reproductive health clinics.
House Select Investigative Panel Holds First Hearing
The House Select Investigative Panel, formed after the release of deceptive, highly-edited videos falsely accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally selling fetal tissue, held its first hearing yesterday, the same day the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will determine whether millions of Texas women will be able to access abortion.
Thousands Rally for Abortion Access at the U.S. Supreme Court
At least two thousand pro-abortion rights activists rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as justices heard arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, a challenge to the Texas TRAP law designed to close off access to abortion.
House Democrats Denounce Rep Blackburn’s Unilateral Use of Subpoenas Targeting Healthcare Providers
The six Democratic Members of the House Select Investigative Panel sent a letter to Chair Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Friday objecting to the Chair’s “abusive and unjustifiable” use of her subpoena authority to force healthcare providers and others to disclose the names of doctors, medical students, and clinic personnel.
Judge Orders Anti-Abortion Group to Cease Release of Secretly Recorded NAF Meetings
In a victory for abortion providers under attack from anti-abortion extremist group Center for Medical Progress, a United States District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering the group and its leaders to halt the release of several surreptitiously-recorded videos filmed illegally at National Abortion Federation meetings.
US Military Generals Support Women’s Inclusion in the Draft
Just one month since opening combat roles to women, top US military officials have stated support for women’s inclusion in the draft.
Zika Virus Raises Need for Increased Access to Reproductive Healthcare
As the Zika virus spreads, at least five countries have advised women to delay pregnancy, advice that many women’s rights advocates have criticized as unrealistic and offensive given restrictive abortion laws and the inaccessibility of birth control in many of the affected areas.
US Signs Controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
United States Trade Representative Michael Froman signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership today in New Zealand, formally ending negotiations on the trade deal.
House Fails to Override Veto of Measure to Defund Planned Parenthood and Repeal Affordable Care Act
The House of Representatives failed to gather enough votes yesterday to override President Obama’s veto of a measure that would have defunded Planned Parenthood for one year and repealed key provisions in the Affordable Care Act.