Last week, the Texas health and human services commissioner, Dr. Kyle Janek, announced he would end the Texas Women’s Health Program if a federal appeals court allows Planned Parenthood to participate.In March, Governor Rick Perry implemented a rule that excludes affiliates of abortion providers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, essentially cutting any government funding […]
Stories of sexual violence, punctuated by the words “RAPE IS RAPE,” were projected onto the U.S. Capitol building last night in Washington, D.C. Activist groups Luminous Intervention and FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture organized the action with the intent of drawing attention to the discourse around rape culture, noting that “American culture is uncomfortable to the […]
Yesterday morning 45-year-old Radcliffe Haughton allegedly gunned down seven women at the salon where his estranged wife worked, killing three of them, including his wife, Zina Houghton, before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. Although the details of the case are still coming to light, it is clear that this was […]
While everyone is consumed in the upcoming election and “women’s issues”, there is yet another disturbing threat at large—the global war on women. The global war I’m thinking of goes beyond reproductive rights to the basic necessity of living free of fear. Last week Malala Yousafzai’s shooting grabbed the world’s attention. Her suffering on account of her desire to attend school put into perspective the violence girls and women face as they exercise their basic rights.
Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Remley resigned from her position on Thursday, citing targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws approved in late September as the primary reason for her resignation. These TRAP laws were designed to force existing abortion clinics to meet the same building codes as new hospitals. The Virginia Board of Health […]
Today the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court’s decision. This is the second federal appeals court to rule the law unconstitutional because it violates the Fifth Amendment, equal protection under the law. However, this is the first ruling […]
A new federal study from the National Center for Health Statistics released today finds that the pill and sterilization are still the most popular birth control methods, but other hormonal methods like the patch, the ring, and the IUD are on the rise. The National Center for Health Statistics surveyed approximately 12,000 American women ages […]
Today, Northern Ireland opened its first private abortion clinic, the Marie Stopes Family Planning Center, in Belfast. The center will operate in accordance with the laws of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which permits strictly restricted abortions. The center will offer surgical abortion within the first nine weeks of pregnancy and administer […]
Yesterday the Supreme Court refused a request to hear an appeal that asked the High Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that allows early voting for all Ohio residents. The state’s Republican Elections Chief and Attorney General had filed the appeal to the Supreme Court. Early voting will be available to all Ohio residents […]
Much of the buzz around today’s presidential debate does not concern economic policy, foreign affairs or the War on Women. No, much of the hoopla centers on a third party: the debate moderator, CNN’s Candy Crowley. Debate moderators have been given particular attention this election season, and their performances have been rated as intently as […]
An inspiring keynote (view video) at the National Press Club in celebration of Ms. turning 40,focused not only on how far the feminist movement has come, but also where the feminist movement needs to go in the future. Brief excerpts of her remarks are as follows. On current challenges facing the feminist movement: “I was […]
A new study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that nearly six in ten seniors would likely pay higher premiums for their Medicare benefits under a “premium-support” system. In a premium-support system, seniors would receive a voucher from the government to buy an insurance plan on the market. They would theoretically be able to […]
Schools in East Aurora, Illinois, will implement a policy that supports transgender and gender nonconforming students after the school board voted unanimously in favor of it Monday. The policy states that transgender and gender nonconforming students have the right to be addressed by the name and gender pronoun with which they identify. According to the […]
Recent reports indicate that radical Islamists are creating lists of unmarried mothers in the northern Mali area, where they have avowed to enforce strict sharia law that forbids women from having any relationships with men outside of marriage. Unmarried women who have violated this rule have been executed, undergone forced amputations, and have been whipped […]
In a Catholics for Choice poll of 1000 self-described Catholic voters, respondents indicated that they are most concerned about jobs, public education, and healthcare-and least concerned about abortion and gay marriage. The poll found that 83 percent of Catholic voters feel no obligation to vote the way the Catholic hierarchy recommends, and 76 percent feel […]
On Thursday, two dozen masked men stormed a popular gay bar in Moscow and beat patrons, injuring 10 and sending four to the hospital. The attack happened during a “Coming Out Day” party, and the attackers mostly targeted women. Three women and one man were hospitalized. The New York Times reports that Nikolai Alekseyev, the […]
Pakistani authorities arrested three men today who were allegedly involved in the shooting of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan’s Swat Valley earlier this week. According to the Atlantic Wire the arrested men all named another man, called Attaullah, as the mastermid of the attack. Attaullah remains at large. On Tuesday, Pakistani Taliban members claimed […]
Ms. founding editor Gloria Steinem, current executive editor Kathy Spillar, Chair of the Ms. Committee of Scholars Bonnie Thornton Dill, PhD, and Ms. publisher Eleanor Smeal celebrated 40 years of Ms. magazine today at the National Press Club along with some of the nation’s leading feminist journalists, reporters, and commentators. “For 40 years, Ms. has […]
In a decision issued earlier this week, an Alaskan Superior Court judge upheld the constitutionality of a state law requiring parental notification for women under 17 who are seeking an abortion. It is likely that the case will be appealed and considered before Alaska’s state Supreme Court. Judge John Suddock found that the requirement does […]
Earlier today, a Moscow City Court freed Pussy Riot punk band member Yekaterina Samutsevich on appeal. The two remaining imprisoned band members, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, are still required to serve their two-year sentences. In a case that has shed international light on the Russian government’s intolerance of dissent, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Yekaterina Samutsevich, […]
