The Bureau of Justice Statistics released a report last week showing that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is effectively working to reduce intimate partner violence. The report titled “Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2010,” looks at crime and victimization studies from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and shows that there has been a 64% decline in […]
On Friday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal by Planned Parenthood to reconsider Ohio restrictions of RU-486 that had been decided by a partial court in October. In October, the Court upheld a 2004 Ohio law that restricts the use of the drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone or the “abortion pill,” […]
A controversial website featuring nude photographs from failed past relationships is relaunching within the month and will include the home addresses of the people pictured on the site. The original site IsAnyoneUp? was a pornographic website that featured nude photographs posted by ex-partners that included the subject’s name and social media profiles. The site was […]
The Supreme Court has delayed its decision on whether or not it will hear a case on same sex marriage. None of the possible seven cases appeared in the orders list [PDF] released this morning that details which cases the Court will take and the ones they have rejected. Cases being considered range from the inclusion of […]
The American Psychological Association approved changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, or DSM, that would remove transgender from being listed as a mental disorder on Saturday. The DSM-V, the latest edition of the diagnostic guidelines used by the mental health community, will no longer have “gender identity disorder” as a classification. Instead, […]
The Obama Administration released an official statement yesterday that includes support for abortion access for military survivors of rape. The statement [PDF] calls for changes to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013, which details the military’s budget, but supports an amendment that would allow military personnel to use their insurance to cover an abortion in cases […]
Students in the Chinese city of Wuhan protested outside the Human Resources and Social Security Department on Monday against the requirement that women who apply for civil service positions in China have a gynecological exam as part of the screening process. Ten university students carrying signs denouncing the exams and wearing large underwear that had […]
On Thursday, Praveen Halappanavar announced that he will take the Irish government to the European Court of Human Relations over his wife’s death after she was denied an abortion last month. According to Gerard O’Donnell, Halappanavar’s lawyer, Halappanavar believes the government did not investigate Savita Halappanavar’s death in October sufficiently. As a result, he plans […]
The Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO) and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a motion for a preliminary injunction Wednesday against a state law which could close its doors early next year. Under House Bill 1390, passed in April 2012, doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges at a local hospital and they must […]
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama nominated Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. If selected, Quiñones Alejandro would be the first openly lesbian Latina judge on the federal bench. Quiñones Alejandro currently serves on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas and became the first Hispanic women to serve […]
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On Thursday, a court in Moscow ruled that videos of Pussy Riot’s performance at Christ the Savior Cathedral must be removed from websites. The court ruling stated that the group’s performance that made international headlines was “extremist” and ruled that access to four videos of the feminist punk band’s performances be immediately blocked from the […]
Ohio Senate President, Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond), announced Tuesday that he will not bring the two separate measures designed to attack abortion and family planning rights to the floor before the end of this legislative term. The “Heartbeat Bill,” House Bill 125, passed the House in 2011 and was awaiting the Senate. This bill would […]
Four female service members, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a federal law suit in San Francisco Tuesday afternoon to end the Pentagon’s ban on women serving in direct combat jobs. The lawsuit alleges that due to the ban women who have been attached to male combat units and have seen combat as […]
Yesterday the U.S. Senate began debating whether or not to ratify the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities treaty, which would recognize fundamental human rights for persons living with disabilities on an international level. Currently 124 countries have ratified the treaty, and 154 have signed it including the United States. The treaty […]
Last week the governing body of the Church of England voted against allowing women to become bishops. While the measure did receive the necessary two-third votes in the House of Bishops and the House of Clergy, the measure just fell short in the House of Laity. Bishops who supported the measure are currently working to […]
The United States Supreme Court will decide if they will take a case regarding same-sex marriage in a closed meeting this Friday. The Court is considering seven potential cases that challenge either the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) or Proposition 8, California’s controversial ban on same-sex marriage that made national headlines. Cases being considered range from the […]
Last week the state of Arizona launched “A Woman’s Right to Know,” a part of the Arizona Department of Health Services website that is designed to discourage women from having an abortion. The website is part of Arizona’s recent legislation to restrict access to abortion 20 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period, or 18 […]
Women in Saudi Arabia are having their movements tracked by the government and sent to their husbands through text message, according to Saudi activists across the country. News spread about the text message alerts when a couple leaving the country received a message from the government that the wife had crossed the country’s border. As […]
Lawmakers in Michigan are considering allowing fetuses that are at least 12 weeks in gestation to qualify as a dependent under the state’s tax law. Two House Bills, HB 5684 and HB 5685, have been proposed in the Michigan House Tax Policy committee and were debated last week. The measures were originally scheduled to be […]
