Late Wednesday night, the Obama Administration filed an appeal in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a federal judge’s decision that emergency contraception must be made available over the counter with no age restrictions. According to the New York Times, the Department of Justice will argue that Judge Edward Korman, who issued the ruling, […]
On Wednesday, the Irish parliament unveiled the Protection of Life In Pregnancy Bill which clarifies when a woman can have a life-saving abortion. Under the new bill, women can terminate a pregnancy when there is a significant threat to her life, including suicide. In the case of an emergency, a single doctor can approve and […]
Last week, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood approved the language for a 2015 ballot measure that would amend the Mississippi state constitution to define life as beginning at conception. Now, supporters must collect 107,216 valid signatures of Mississippi voters to add it to the Mississippi ballot in 2015. Initiative Measure No. 41, originally approved by […]
President Obama announced his renewed desire to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in a press conference yesterday. He said that the prison was created in an understandable reaction to the tragedy of 9/11, “but we are now over a decade out. We should be wiser. We should have more experience in how we […]
Yesterday, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was sworn in as Bangladesh’s first female Speaker of the Parliament. She was unanimously elected by the Parliament earlier Tuesday to fill the vacant seat. Previously, Chaudhury, a member of the majority Awami League party, was the state minister for women and children affairs. In addition to advancing women’s equality through […]
A staff person for Washington state Senator Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) recently told a Washington blogger that LGBT individuals can fend for themselves when they are denied services under a recently proposed bill. Jay Castro, a reader of the Washington blog column Slog at The Stranger, called Senator Hewitt’s office to ask about his sponsorship of SB […]
The Florida state legislature has a week to reconcile two different versions of a Medicaid expansion bill that could either provide coverage to 1.1 million Floridians, or to only 115,000. The debate over the two versions of the bill is over the question of whether or not Florida should accept funding from the federal government […]
The King Khalid Foundation (KKF) in Saudi Arabia has launched the first advertising campaign to combat violence against women in Saudi Arabia. The advertisement features a woman in a niqab with a black eye and a caption that reads “Some things can’t be covered – fight women’s abuse together.” Other versions of the poster feature […]
Mary Thom, one of the longest serving editors of Ms. Magazine, died in a motorcycle crash over the weekend. Thom was the Editor in Chief of the Women’s Media Center. Thom joined Ms. Magazine in 1972 as a researcher and stayed with the magazine for twenty years as executive editor. In 1992, Thom wrote Inside […]
Quinnipiac University has agreed to keep women’s volley ball as a varsity sport, increase scholarships for female athletes and expand opportunities for women as part of a Title IX legal settlement. The case against Quinnipiac began in 2009 when the university made an announcement that the school was cutting women’s volleyball, men’s golf, and men’s […]
Six days after the deadly building collapse outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, rescuers are still working to recover any remaining survivors and locate bodies of the deceased. 385 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the collapse. 2,437 have been rescued alive. Efforts were delayed on Sunday when a spark from a metal grinder […]
New national guidelines on forensic medical examination in sexual assault cases were released by the Department of Justice this Wednesday. In addition to focusing on the victim’s emotional and physical wellbeing during medical examinations, the guidelines also clearly state a recommendation that sexual assault victims are offered emergency contraception. In the case that the medical […]
On Thursday, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced a bill that would extend insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape or incest to Peace Corps volunteers. Currently only paid Peace Corps staff have this coverage, forcing Peace Corps volunteers who are assaulted to pay for abortion procedures out of pocket. The bill, titled the “Peace […]
Late last night, Congress approved the nomination of Jenny Yang as a commissioner to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In her role as partner in the class action law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, Yang was responsible for some of the biggest sex discrimination cases in recent years. Yang was one of the lawyers […]
The death toll from a building collapse in Bangladesh on Wednesday has now climbed over 300 as many others are still trapped beneath the wreckage of what used to be garment factories and a shopping center. Shahinur Islam, a Bangladesh Army spokesperson on the collapse, told reporters that the number of people confirmed dead has […]
A woman who faces a life-threatening, non-viable pregnancy may have to choose between saving her life or going to jail in El Salvador. “Beatriz”, who is currently 22 and already a mother of a young infant, was diagnosed with multiple severe illness and is 18 weeks pregnant. In addition, the fetus will not survive more […]
Female police officers in Afghanistan are fighting harassment in co-ed changing facilities and restrooms at the hands of male colleagues, according to a recent report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW). In the story, released today, HRW found that women in the Afghan police force face sexual harassment, assault, and even rape from male colleagues. […]
At least 228 people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of a building collapse in Bangladesh. The collapse happened yesterday morning in the suburb of Savar, outside the capital of Dhaka. The building housed five garment factories as well as a shopping center. Officials say that while 228 are confirmed dead, they fear the […]
An eight story building in Bangladesh collapsed on Wednesday morning, killing at least over 100 people. The death toll is still rising. The building in the suburb of Savar, outside of the capital Dhaka housed five garment factories as well as a shopping center. An official appointed to give information about those missing or hurt […]
Eden Foods, a popular supplier of organic food items, has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The Michigan-based company says that the contraception clause of the Affordable Care Act violates religious freedom. In the words of Eden’s lawsuit, the clause “attacks and desecrates a foremost tenet […]
