Governor Phil Bryant (R) of Mississippi has rescinded his nomination of anti-abortion activist Terri Herring to the Mississippi Board of Health after media outlets questioned the legality of the nomination. Governor Bryant announced his nomination of Terri Herring to the state’s Board of Health last Wednesday. Bryant nominated her because she has “committed her life to women’s […]
The Kansas state Senate gave first round approval to an anti-abortion bill that would define life as beginning at the point of fertilization with a voice vote yesterday. The final vote is expected to occur today. House Bill 2253 attacks abortion access on multiple fronts. HB 2253 requires that abortion providers supply women with a list of organizations […]
Catholic colleges and universities across the country are siding with Boston College’s decision to discipline students who continue to distribute condoms on campus. A representative from Catholic University, Victor Nakas, said, “One of the teachings of our faith is that contraception is morally unacceptable. Since condoms are a form of contraception, we do not permit […]
A French law that allows minors between the ages of fifteen and eighteen to receive free contraception from family planning centers and provides abortion without cost to patients went into effect this Sunday. The law was promised by President François Holland during his election campaign. The measure covers both contraceptive pills as well as implants, […]
A bill that would ban so-called “reparative therapy”- therapy intended to “convert” gay men and women to be heterosexual- is headed to the New Jersey Senate floor. The ban would apply to children under 18. It already passed in the state Senate’s Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on a 7 to 1 vote in […]
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant (R) announced that he has nominated Terri Herring to the state’s Board of Health Wednesday. Bryant nominated her because she has “committed her life to women’s health care and the right to life.” Herring is a director of the Pro-Life America Network in addition to being president of the Mississippi Choose […]
A group of Boston College students are facing possible punishment from the university’s administration for passing out condoms. The group, Safe Sites, founded a network of eighteen dorm rooms and additional spaces near the campus that provide condoms to students. A spokesperson for the college, Jack Dunn, told students in an email that, “As a […]
Rep. Don Young of Alaska reminisced on his childhood in Central California on a radio show earlier this week, using the term “wetbacks” to describe the migrant workers who picked tomatoes on the family farm. Young expressed minimal remorse when he was blasted for using the word, stating his belief that it didn’t have a […]
A Women’s Day rally and lobby day will be held in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 2nd to address the Extreme Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law pending in the state Senate. The Alabama House voted 73 to 23 for TRAP law in February that would require all comprehensive women’s clinic to comply with stringent, […]
Today, the United States Supreme Court is set to hear the second case on the topic of same sex marriage presented this week. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which states the federal government will only recognize marriage as between one man and one woman, is being argued today. The current Obama administration has stated […]
Yesterday, President Obama announced that he will appoint Julia Pierson to direct the Secret Service. Pierson will be the first woman to lead the Secret Service in United States history. President Obama in a statement, described Pierson, “Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures […]
Earlier today, female teacher Shahnaz Nazli was shot by two men of unknown affiliation on her way to work at a girls school in the village of Shahkas. She died of her injuries in the hospital. The Khyber tribal district in northwest Pakistan is asking the government to implement greater security measures for women and […]
North Dakota governor Jack Dalrymple (R-ND) just signed a series of three restrictive anti-abortion rights measures into state law. All three measures were passed by the Republican-controlled North Dakota House and Senate. The North Dakota legislature also passed a Personhood state constitutional amendment, which would ban the termination of a pregnancy from the moment of […]
Today the Supreme Court heard oral arguments weighing the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the California ban on same sex marriage. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case Hollingsworth, Dennis, et al. v. Perry, Kristin M., et al. Arguments lasted for approximately an hour and twenty minutes, at which point the Supreme Court Justicesappeared reluctant on making […]
The Washington state Senate is considering legislation that would mandate abortion insurance coverage. The recently proposed Reproductive Parity Act would require all insurance companies providing maternity care to also pay for abortions. Earlier this month, the bill passed the state House with a vote of 53-43. However, support in the Senate is less certain. Melanie […]
On Thursday, the Federal Council of Medicine in Brazil announced their support for legislative reform of the country’s current abortion laws. The proposed legislation being debated in the Brazilian Senate would legalize abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. It would also expand a current exception that allows abortion in only in the case […]
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), announced Sunday that it is changing its name from Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to just GLAAD in an effort to expand its mission statement to include members of the transgender community. GLAAD is known for its efforts to curb anti-gay and lesbian media–an effort it […]
Today the North Dakota state legislature passed a measure that would amend the state Constitution to define life as starting as conception, granting full personhood to fertilized eggs. The state House approved the measure in vote of 57-35. The state Senate already approved the measure in February. The measure now goes before North Dakota voters. […]
Yesterday the devastating Ryan Budget for 2014 was passed on a party line vote of 221-207 in the House of Representatives. Later that day it was solidly defeated in the Senate in a vote of 40-59. The Ryan budget would repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurance companies from classifying being a woman […]
This morning, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to bar the state executive branch from privatizing the prison system. This decision contrasts with the state’s position on the issue last year, when it considered a bill that would send all male prisoners to private prisons. The House said that states are constitutionally required to […]
