On Tuesday, a Mississippi state Senate committee approved a bill that could threaten the use of medical abortion in the state. It now goes before the full state Senate for debate and a possible vote. Senate Bill 2795, also known as the “Women’s Health Defense Act,” [PDF] seeks to force abortion providers to follow outdated […]
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom House of Commons approved a bill which grants same-sex couples the right to marry on a 400 to 175 vote. Since 2004, citizens of England and Wales have only been granted civil partnerships. If the “Marriage Bill” passes in the House of Lords and becomes law, LGBTQ unions will be […]
A proposed bill that would have made it illegal to receive or perform an abortion in the state of Colorado has died in a state House committee. House Bill 13-1033 would have completely outlawed elective abortions in the state and would have made it a class 3 felony for doctors to perform them. The motion […]
by Martha Burk, Money Editor, Ms. magazine; director, Corporate Accountability Project, National Council of Women’s Organizations This post originally appeared on the Huffington Post. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances. If you think fact that after 225 years the […]
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which grants job-protected sick leave to those who are recovering or taking care of someone recovering from an illness or those who have had a new child. The FMLA was signed into law on February 5, 1993 by President Bill Clinton and is […]
On Monday, the Virginia state Senate rejected a bill that would have required screening and possible testing for illicit drug use in order to qualify for state assistance. In a party line vote of 20-19, the state Senate rejected the bill proposed by Senator Bill Carrico (R-Grayson) that would require those applying for public assistance […]
Yesterday, the Arkansas state House approved a bill that would outlaw abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy without any exception for rape or incest on a vote of 75 to 20. The bill will now move to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee for a final decision. The state House also approved a […]
Female Students of Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, New Jersey took a pledge last week not to swear for the month of February. In addition to the pledge, female students of the Catholic high school were given pins that pictured lips with a slash through the image to wear. The male students […]
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of the Russian punk feminist band Pussy Riot was transferred to a hospital at the end of January for severe headaches. Tolokonnikova told her lawyer that she has been suffering headaches and fatigue since her prison sentence began in October 2012. Her lawyer, Irina Khrunova, issued an appeal to the prison’s director requesting […]
Over the weekend, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and the Union Cabinet approved new provisions to the Indian Penal Code that create harsher punishments for sexual assault and rape. The laws went into immediate effect when President Mukherjee’s signed them on Sunday, but must be ratified by Parliament. With the new provisions, the death penalty could […]
The Arkansas state Senate passed the Human Heartbeat Protection Act in a 28 to 6 decision Thursday. This act would require women who are seeking to terminate their pregnancies to undergo a vaginal ultrasound, reported Reuters. If the probe is able to detect a fetal heartbeat, the woman would not be allowed to undergo an […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will not take action against a Pennsylvania college that has a vending machine in the student health center that dispense the morning-after pill. Shippensburg University began dispensing Plan-B, the brand name for an emergency contraceptive pill that can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex, in a […]
Retired Cardinal Roger M. Mahony was relieved from all of his public duties hours after the release of confidential Catholic Church documents on child sexual abuse scandals from the 1980’s. Thousands of files containing information regarding the cover up of years of sexual abuse scandals by priests within the church, many of which occurred during […]
Yesterday, President Obama released a memorandum calling for an increased push from executive departments towards achieving equality for women and girls worldwide. In his memorandum, President Obama wrote “Promoting gender equality and advancing the status of all women and girls around the world remains one of the greatest unmet challenges of our time, and one […]
A bill that would prohibit elementary and middle school teachers from discussing any form of sexuality that is not considered natural reproduction with students was reintroduced in the Tennessee state Senate. SB 234, titled the “Classroom Protection Act” [PDF] but nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, reads “The general assembly recognizes that certain subjects are […]
The first Senate Judiciary Committee hearing concerning gun control since President Obama announced his commitment to reducing gun violence begins today. Obama’s proposal for gun control includes the reinstatement of a ban on “assault” weapons, a limit on ammunition capacities, and more extensive background checks. Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly, who recently […]
Malala Yousafzai, the girls’ rights activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban in October 2012, is preparing for her final surgeries. The BBC reports that in the next few days, a surgeon will implant a titanium plate in Yousafzai’s skull and a cochlear implant to restore hearing in her left ear, which […]
Conservative leaders in the New York state Senate are planning on fighting a women’s rights proposal from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over provisions related to abortion. Governor Cuomo has been speaking in support of his “Women’s Equality Act,” though a bill has not yet been submitted to the state Senate. The “Women’s Equality Act” […]
On Monday, two Boy Scouts of America (BSA) board members, Randall Stephenson and James Turley, announced they will seek to end the organization’s ban on gay members. Stephenson, who will assume the position of national chairman in 2014, and Turley hope to implement a policy that would put the power to admit or not admit […]
Yesterday a Wyoming state House committee voted 5 to 3 to reject a bill that would have prohibited abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. House Bill 97 was introduced into the Wyoming House Labor Health and Social Services committee yesterday by Representative Kendell Kroeker (R-Evansville). The committee debated for over two hours before […]
