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 […]
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new policy guidelines today in support of increasing access to emergency contraception among teenage girls. Currently young women under the age of 17 must have a prescription in order to get emergency contraception such as Plan B. This restricts access to young women and girls who can’t get […]
In its annual report released on November 14th, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) declared that it will now consider contraception a global human right. The report, titled “The State of World Population 2012: By Choice, Not by Chance: Family Planning, Human Rights and Development,” conveys the basic message that contraception is a “human right” […]
Last week Virginia’s Board of Juvenile Justice agreed to continue the inclusion of protections for LGBT youth despite opposition from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. The protections including LGBT youth were first introduced under Governor Mark Warner in 2005. Governor Tim Kaine, his successor, preserved the same language. A series of revisions to the language, all […]
Yesterday the US Preventive Services Task Force released new guidelines recommending that every American between the ages of 15 and 65 be regularly tested for HIV. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance coverage of all preventive services recommended by the task force, which means that regular HIV testing will now be covered under Obamacare as […]
In a 7-1 vote yesterday, the Syracuse Common Council amended the Syracuse Fair Practice Law to include the protection of transgender and gender non-conforming people against discrimination. The passage of this legislation will prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations (such as restaurants, hotels, and stores) based on a person’s gender identity or expression. […]
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton ruled that the craft store Hobby Lobby must cover the morning-after pill for its employees. In September, the evangelical-owned Hobby Lobby and sister company Mardel Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama Administration over the mandate requiring employers to provide coverage for the morning-after pill and other contraceptives. […]
Abortion clinics and other medical facilities in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were granted a small reprieve from anti-choice protesters last week when the City Council unanimously voted to create a buffer zone around the facilities. Now protestors cannot be within 20 feet of an entrance or driveway to a medical facility without facing a fine. Planned Parenthood […]
The governing body of the Church of England is set to begin discussions about whether or not to allow women to become bishops. All three branches of the General Synod, the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy, and the House of Laity must approve of any decision to allow women bishops by a two-thirds […]
Last Thursday, Wal-Mart filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board to block Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) protesters from picketing outside of stores on Black Friday. Walmart claims that OUR Walmart actions planned for Friday are part of continuing protests by United Food and Commercial Workers Union (U.F.C.W) and would […]
Today President Obama and top Congressional Leaders began to discuss compromises needed to reach an agreement between the White House and Congress for next year’s budget. If an agreement between the two is not met by the end of the year, taxes on all Americans will increase. “We have to make sure that taxes don’t […]
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected a ban that currently prohibits Michigan from instituting affirmative action policies in higher education on Thursday by an 8 to 7 vote. The Court ruled [PDF] that a 2006 referendum approved by Michigan voters that prohibits race or gender from being used as a factor in […]
A recent study conducted by UC San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) found that women who are denied an abortion in the United States are three times more likely to be under the federal poverty line. Of 956 women who sought abortion care, the study found that 65% of “turnaways” (women who […]
