Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson refused to grant an injunction that would have stopped a new Pennsylvania voter ID law from going into effect today. Simpson’s decision will most likely be appealed to the state Supreme Court. The law will require anyone voting in Pennsylvania to show specific government issued photo IDs. Pennsylvania’s Secretary […]
A new immigration program, dubbed Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, goes into effect today. The program was created under President Obama’s executive order, signed in June, stating that the US will no longer seek the deportation of young illegal immigrants without criminal records who came to the US as children, and instead allow […]
Tea party favorite Rep. Sandy Adams was defeated by 10-term Congressman Jon Mica in yesterday’s Florida primary. A 19-year incumbent and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Mica led freshman Adams 61% to 39% with 96% of precincts reporting. Mica and Adams faced each other in a primary election after a Republican-drafted […]
After a 20-year absence, a woman will finally take the moderator’s seat in a U.S. presidential debate. CNN’s Candy Crowley, chief political correspondent and anchor of “State of the Union With Candy Crowley,” is the first woman since 1992 to take on the role. Martha Raddatz, senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC News, will moderate the vice presidential debate. […]
The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Monday that CNN’s chief political correspondent Candy Crowley will moderate one of three presidential debates this fall, which will be the first time in 20 years that a woman has done so. ABC’s Martha Raddatz will moderate the vice-presidential debate, and PBS’s Jim Lehrer and CBS’s Bob […]
On Saturday Mitt Romney announced Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) as his vice-presidential running mate. Ryan is widely known as the architect of a budget passed by the House in Spring 2012 that dismantles Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. The Daily Beast reports that the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said Ryan’s budget “calls for […]
In a state known for its chaotic elections, early voting stations in Ohio’s Democratic-leaning counties will soon be restricted, while it’s Republican-leaning counties will see their early voting hours expanded. Starting October 1st, voters in Ohio’s urban centers will have early voting stations open from 8am to 5pm. Republican election commissioners blocked Democratic efforts to […]
President Barack Obama issued an executive order Friday on preventing and responding to violence against women and girls around the world. The order creates an interagency working group that, according to senior advisor to the president Valerie Jarrett, is “designed to leverage our country’s tremendous expertise and capacity to prevent and respond to gender-based violence […]
Thumbs Up for Kayla Harrison, who won the first women’s gold medal for the U.S. in judo on August 2 and who overcame great personal challenges to triumph at these London Games. Even though American Rusty Kanokogi, who fought for years to make women’s judo an Olympic sport, didn’t live to see Harrison make history […]
Women are making history at the London 2012 Olympic Games. For the first time in history, women athletes are representing every single competing country. Saudi Arabia was the last hold-out, but they finally entered two female athletes earlier this summer. Although women first competed in the modern Olympic Games in 1900, this is the first […]
Texas medical groups are pushing back against new restrictions proposed by the state Department of Health and Human Services that would prevent any doctor from discussing abortion with patients. The restrictions would apply to doctors participating in the Texas Women’s Health Program (WHP). The Texas Medical Association and four other groups, who represent 47,000 doctors […]
Christine Quinn is the first female and openly gay New York City Council Speaker. By speaking out and standing up for the rights of women and queer folks throughout the city, she has received a lot of support from the feminist community as Speaker and as potential NYC mayor. But on a new issue facing […]
After much public pressure, a Louisiana school’s policy that students be required to take pregnancy tests at the threat of expulsion will be changed, announced school officials yesterday. The policy, which requires students who are suspected of being pregnant to undergo a pregnancy test, states students who are either found to be pregnant or who […]
Yesterday Georgetown Law graduate and women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke hit the campaign trail with President Barack Obama. Fluke introduced Obama at a campaign event (video) in Denver, Colorado. She rose to national attention last winter after she spoke out publicly in favor of Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA)–specifically the birth control mandate–and was then […]
Update 9/12/2012:Colorado Personhood Will Not Appear on November 2012 Ballot Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced today that the Colorado Personhood Coalition has missed the Monday deadline for ballot certification for the “Personhood” Amendment to appear on the November 2012 ballot. On August 29, Gessler determined that the amendment did not have enough valid […]
US District Judge J. Thomas Marten ruled yesterday that Angel Dillard will face a jury trial in the case against her that alleges Dillard violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), a law protecting abortion clinics. The Justice Department filed a civil complaint in 2011 against Dillard for sending a threatening letter […]
In the Dominican Republic doctors are not treating a 16-year-old girl with acute leukemia because of her pregnancy, CNN reports. Article 37 of the Dominican constitution, passed in 2009 states: “the right to the life is inviolable from conception until death.” Because of this bill, abortion is illegal in every case, including rape, incest, and […]
In response to letters from LGBT health and advocacy groups, the Department of Health and Human Services announced in letter made public yesterday that, under the Affordable Care Act, discrimination based on gender identity will not be tolerated. Leon Rodriguez, director of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights, stated in a written response to the groups […]
On Monday the Colorado Personhood Coalition submitted 112,121 signatures to the secretary of state, surpassing the 86,105 signatures required to get its anti-abortion initiative on the ballot in November. The signatures must be verified by state officials by September 5th. This will be the third consecutive time Colorado will have a personhood initiative on the […]
On Sunday, women competed in an Olympic boxing match for the first time in history. Russian boxer Elena Savelyeva and her North Korean opponent Hye Song Kim battled for the honor of the first Olympic victory in women’s boxing. Savelyeva won the bout 12-9. A total of 36 athletes in three weight classes will compete […]
