The North Carolina House of Representatives is considering an anti-immigration bill that would allow law enforcement officials to police a person’s immigration status based on “reasonable suspicion.” The bill has already advanced in committee. House Bill 786, or the Reasonable Enactment of Comprehensive Legislation Addressing Immigration Matters Act (RECLAIM Act) [PDF], would allow law enforcement officials to […]
An 18-year-old high school senior in Florida who was charged with a felony and expelled from her school for a consensual same-sex relationship with a 15-year-old classmate rejected a plea deal from the state on Friday. Kaitlin Hunt was arrested in February and charged with “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 to 16” after the […]
Today is the opening day of the 2013 Women Deliver Global Conference, the largest conference on women’s health, maternal health and maternal mortality in the world. The third annual conference is being held this year in Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Activists, lawmakers, UN officials, and business leaders from around the world will gather […]
On Thursday, the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay youth to participate in the organization. Openly gay leaders and adults are still prohibited from taking part. Over 1,400 members of the BSA National Council voted on the proposed change, with over 60 percent voting in favor of allowing gay youth. However, openly […]
On Thursday, a panel of eight male members of the House of Representatives met to discuss a nationwide ban of abortion after 20 weeks gestation. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice began consideration of the DC Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act on Thursday. The bill, sponsored by Trent Franks (R-AZ), who […]
Four universities across the country are facing allegations of mishandling sexual assault cases in violation of the Clery Act and Title IX. On Wednesday, students filed complaints against Dartmouth College, Swarthmore College, University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Southern California. Attorney Gloria Allred said at a press conference, “We are asking the […]
A member of the Russian feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot has announced that she is launching a hunger strike after she was denied the right to attend her parole hearing. Maria Alyokhina was denied the ability to attend her parole hearing in person and instead had to communicate with the court through video link […]
A sergeant first class with the US Military Academy at West Point is facing charges of secretly filming female cadets with hidden cameras and without consent. Sergeant First Class Michael McClendon is accused of secretly videotaping at least a dozen women without their consent. McClendon, who has been an instructor at West Point since 2009, […]
On Tuesday, the Arizona law banning abortion after 20 weeks in a pregnancy was ruled unconstitutional and permanently struck down. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 20 week ban in Arizona violated a woman’s constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before viability (around 24 weeks) as determined by Roe v. Wade. In […]
Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. The bill, drafted by the so-called “Gang of Eight,” includes a path to citizenship for the 11 million people currently in the United States who do not have legal status. It also includes measures to […]
On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery. Roberts was suspended following allegations of “adultery and a physical altercation.” Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for […]
A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for ‘moral crimes’ has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth. Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though […]
An 18 year old high school senior in Florida was charged with a felony and expelled from her school for a consensual same-sex relationship with a 15 year old classmate. Kaitlin Hunt was arrested in February and charged with “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 to 16” after the parents of her partner […]
A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against a twelve week abortion ban in Arkansas while the constitutionality of the bill is in question. U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright of Little Rock granted the request of two doctors involved in the case to block the enforcement of the bill. In her decision she said, […]
On Friday, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation that would allow the government to investigate crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) that falsely advertise abortion services. The “Stop Deceptive Advertising For Women’s Services Act,” introduced in both the House and the Senate, would allow the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports of […]
Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) has introduced a bill that will ban abortion after the 20th week of a pregnancy in the United States. The bill, also called the D.C. Pain Capable Unborn Protection Act, originally would have banned abortion at 20 weeks gestation only in the District of Columbia. However, Franks decided to expand the bill nationwide […]
Walmart, along with 13 other major North American companies, refused to sign a legally binding agreement to improve working conditions for overseas factory workers that manufacture their clothes after a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh killing an estimated 1300 workers, the New York Times reports. The agreement requires retailers pay $500,000 to improve worker safety […]
On Saturday, the Speaker of the Lower House of Afghan Parliament delayed a vote on the Elimination of Violence against Women law after two hours of vociferous debate between conservative religious and more liberal members of Parliament. The Speaker did not specify when the measure would be placed on the floor for a vote again. […]
Two doctors have requested that a federal judge temporarily block enforcement of Arkansas’ 12 week abortion ban while the ban is facing legal challenges. The “Human Heartbeat Protection Act,” or Act 301, bans abortion once a human heartbeat is detected using a standard abdominal ultrasound, usually at 12 weeks gestation. The bill was passed into […]
Although both vary in the severity of cuts taking place, each will take considerable funds away from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.
