The Department of Justicen will seek preclearance of voting laws from areas through federal courts in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
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House Passes Bill Investigating Discharges of Military Sexual Assault Survivors
Yesterday the House passed an amendment to the 2014 defense appropriations bill that seeks to increase support of military sexual assault victims who have faced separation from the military based on alleged mental disorders.
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Senate Passes Student Loan Reform Bill
On Wednesday, the Senate passed legislation to lower interest rates on student loans 81-18. If the bill is passed in the House, it will reach President Obama, who has expressed his support of the legislation and urged Congress to also tackle the rising cost of tuition and the existing $1 trillion in student debt.
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North Carolina Advances Extreme Voter Suppression Legislation
A North Carolina Senate committee passed new extreme restriction on voting right on Tuesday.
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Teva Pharmaceuticals Gets Exclusive Rights to OTC Emergency Contraception
With the exclusive rights for Teva, the cost-effective versions will still be denied to young girls or those who do not have government issued identification.
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Federal Judge Delays Enforcement of Alabama Abortion Law
US District Judge Myron Thompson has delayed the implementation of an Alabama law that would severely limit access to abortion services from August 2013 to March 24, 2014. The law, which mandates abortion clinics conform to the same standards as ambulatory care centers and requires doctors to attain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, would eliminate three out of the five clinics in Alabama currently offering abortion services.
New All-Women Jirga in Pakistan Takes Steps Toward Equality
In Pakistan, the rights of fundamentalists surpass the rights of women.
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Federal Judge Blocks North Dakota Six Week Abortion Ban
Yesterday a federal judge placed a temporary block on North Dakota’s ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Signed into law in March, the abortion law in North Dakota bans the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can usually be found around the six-week mark. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland said that North Dakota’s abortion ban, which is the nation’s earliest ban, is “clearly invalid and unconstitutional.”
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USC Under Investigation for Mishandling Sexual Assault Cases
The United States Department of Education (DOE) has opened an investigation into the mishandling of sexual assault cases by the University of Southern California (USC) and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating the schools under Title IX, a law that bans discrimination on the basis of gender, and the Clery Act, which requires cases of sexual assault to be reported to the DOE.
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New Report Shows FGM in Decline, but 30 Million Girls Still at Risk
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a report Monday saying that 30 million girls are at risk for female genital mutilation (FGM), despite a global decline in the practice. The report (PDF here) covers data from over 20 years in 29 countries across Africa and the Middle East where the practice is still prevalent. […]
Pregnancy Pricetags, Impossible Choices: Women in the US Are Between A Rock and a Hard Place
When women get pregnant in America, they pay more and die more than women in other industrialized nations.
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Review of “Stand Your Ground” Laws Receives Bipartisan Support
Leaders of both political parties have spoken up in favor of reforms to the “Stand Your Ground” laws that have been associated with the high profile case of the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman.
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Groundbreaking Journalist, Helen Thomas, Dies at 92
Helen Thomas, a trailblazing journalist who has been a fixture in White House reporting for over 40 years, died on Saturday at the age of 92.
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Hobby Lobby Win Injunction Against Birth Control Mandate
After receiving a temporary injunction from US District Judge Joe Heaton last week, Hobby Lobby will now be exempted from the Affordable Care Act stipulation that requires employer-based insurance plans to cover various birth control methods at no extra cost to employees until October 1, 2013.
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Sexual Battery Charges Against Air Force Officer Dropped
A charge of sexual battery against Air Force officer Jeffrey Krusinski was dropped on Thursday. He is instead being charged with assault and battery and could still face jail time.
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Texas Bill Introduced Will Ban Abortion After 6 Weeks
On Thursday, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a controversial abortion ban, also known as HB 2, into law, officially limiting access to 20 weeks and establishing new regulations for abortion clinics and providers within the state.
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USAID Announces Plan for Afghan Women
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new $200 million program Thursday for Afghan women. The five-year plan, called Promote, is expected to increase economic, social, and political participation of women between the ages of 18 and 30 through education, job training, microfinance and credit for female entrepreneurs, and training for policymaking. Under […]
The System Has Failed: We Need to End Stand Your Ground
We stand with Marissa Alexander and support a broad repeal of Stand Your Ground laws in this country.
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Rick Perry Signs Anti-Abortion Bill Into Law
Today Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) will sign a strict anti-abortion bill into law that will jeopardize 37 of the state’s 42 clinics. Abortion rights organizations have vowed to challenge the law. Both the ACLU and Planned Parenthood Action Fund are currently evaluating their legal options. Similar laws and provisions have been ruled unconstitutional by […]
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Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Pledges Support to Sodomy Ban
Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Attorney General and Republican Gubernatorial candidate, launched a website yesterday defending his state’s unconstitutional anti-sodomy law. Cuccinelli’s new website, www.vachildpredators.com, equates sodomy and oral sex with pedophilia, claiming that 90 child sex offenders — found guilty under Virginia’s anti-sodomy Crimes Against Nature law — will be released if the Supreme Court does […]