On Monday, President Obama set the record for most women judges appointed to the federal bench in one term when Stephanie Rose was confirmed on a 89 to 1 Senate vote as a new U.S. District Court Judge in Southern District of Iowa. Obama has now appointed 72 women to federal judgeships. This is the […]
A panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appeals court ruled yesterday that a woman cannot be prosecuted under an Idaho state law for taking medication to induce an abortion. In September 2011, Jennie Linn McCormack used medication she had purchased from the internet to abort her own […]
Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL) told contraception advocate and Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke to “go get a job” at a campaign event on Saturday. Congressman Walsh addressed a crowd of supporters in Addison, Illinois, on Saturday about Sandra Fluke’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. He said “Think about this, a 30, 31, 32 year […]
The first academic study since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” found that troops have suffered no negative side effects. The study included interviews with anti-repeal advocates, 13 generals and admirals who were against the repeal, and 60 active duty soldiers from every branch of the military of all sexual orientations. The study was […]
Last week the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) reached a $295,000 settlement in a sex discrimination suit with Lund Boat Co., a subsidiary of Brunswick Corporation. In the past two years, the Brunswick Corporation has been awarded $248 million in federal contracts. OFCCP found that Lund Boat Co. had passed […]
For the first time since 1987, Chicago’s public school teachers went to picket lines this morning instead of classrooms. 25,000 public school teachers went on strike after contract negotiations Sunday night failed to reach a compromise. Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union, said that negotiations on wages were not the main points of […]
President Obama’s approval rating increased from 47 percent to 52 percent during the Democratic National Convention last week, according to a recent Gallup Daily Poll. The Gallup Poll was conducted using daily phone interviews with 1,500 adults with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. This is the highest President Obama’s approval rating […]
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine will appeal a federal court decision granting early-voting in the state. Last week, a federal judge ruled that Ohio must reinstate early voting during the three-days before the election, a schedule that had previously been eliminated by Secretary of State, Jon Husted. The court ruled that the elimination of early […]
Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty on one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri. Bishop Finn is the highest ranking U.S. Catholic official convicted in a sex abuse scandal. Bishop Finn was sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation. A condition of Finn’s probation is that he […]
Zach Wahl, a marriage-equality advocate made famous by his speech delivered at a hearing in Iowa about being raised by a lesbian couple, endorsed President Obama last night at the Democratic National Convention because of the party’s position on same-sex marriage. In his speech, Wahl attacked opponents of same-sex marriage. “I think every child deserves […]
On Tuesday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was asked by reporters if she could balance her role as a mother and running for governor in 2014, despite the fact that Madigan has not confirmed she will run. Madigan shut down reporters’ questions about her intentions in running as governor in the 2014 mid-term election, stating […]
President Barack Obama officially accepted the Democratic Part’s nomination for re-election last night in Charlotte, North Carolina. In accepting the nomination, the President stated “If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million […]
United States District Judge Susan R. Bolton, a federal judge, denied a request Wednesday to block the “show me your papers” provision in Arizona’s immigration law. The Arizona law allows law enforcement officials in the state to request proof of legal immigration, residency, or citizenship of anyone they suspect might be an illegal immigrant. Her […]
Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown Law School student Republicans refused to allow to testify at a House Committee hearing on the religious exemption on contraception coverage and women’s health, addressed the Democratic National Convention last night in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fluke spoke about how the outcome of November Election could impact women’s rights. Earlier this year, […]
The 10,000 person cap for the U Visa, a visa for immigrants designed to give victims of physical or mental abuse temporary legal status and work eligibility for four years, has been reached this year. This is the third consecutive year the visa has reached its cap, and never has the cap been reached this […]
The Chicago Police Department adopted a new policy for respectfully handling transgender suspects on August 22nd of this year. The changes have been supported by multiple transgender-rights organizations, and were not formally announced by the police department. The new policy prohibits an officer from searching a person to determine their gender and requires that transgender […]
Michelle Obama spoke on key women’s issues including health care reform, financial aid, same-sex marriage, equal pay,and abortion in her address at the Democratic National Convention last night. While speaking from her childhood experiences, Michelle Obama voiced her full support for the Affordable Care Act and continued heath care reform, as well as funding for […]
Lilly Ledbetter, who initiated one of the largest legal battles for equal pay for equal work, addressed the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tuesday evening. Ledbetter shared with the convention her decade-long struggle to get compensation from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., who paid her less than her male […]
The Democratic National Convention began this morning by releasing Democratic 2012 Party Platform, which seeks to protect abortion access, ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, defend Obamacare, support immigration reform and legalize same-sex marriage among other positions. On abortion – “Abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor and her clergy; […]
Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) entered the rape exception debate when speaking at a town hall on Thursday. When asked about abortion in cases of rape, Bartlett responded that there are so few pregnancies from rape that an exception would not be an issue. Congressman Bartlett is currently in a tight race to win re-election against […]
