A Connecticut Federal Court Judge ruled yesterday that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Fifth Amendment right to equal protection, following suit with several other judges who have made the same ruling in the past two years. DOMA defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, denying federal benefits to […]
The historic XIX International AIDS Conference ended last Friday, but just how historic were the results it managed to achieve? As far as funding goes, the US, whose funding was actually decreasing, made two funding announcements. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton announced over $150 million in new US initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS, adding an additional $80 million […]
American women should be celebrating today because an important provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is going into effect. Birth control will officially be available to women with no copay, as will breast exams, breast-feeding support, domestic violence counseling, HPV testing, and many other services. These preventative services will save women a huge sum […]
By Cindy Pearson, co-founder, National Women’s Health Network HERvotes is joining our voices together in a blog carnival to celebrate and defend women’s preventive services, including contraception. Starting August 1, all new insurance plans have to cover seven preventive services with no extra fees. That means women won’t have to put off their well-woman exam […]
Just yesterday, one of my friends paid $35 for her monthly co-pay for her birth control prescription. And she has good insurance – yikes! But that was yesterday. Starting today, because of the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare), every new health insurance policy must include FDA-approved contraceptives without any co-pays or deductibles. And that’s not […]
This week, you may have heard that Chick-Fil-A doesn’t like gay people. In fact, you may have heard that Chick-Fil-A dislikes gay people so much that they donate millions of dollars to anti-gay rights organizations. When COO Dan Cathy was asked about these anti-gay feelings and these large sums of money in a recent interview, he […]
Personhood USA is petitioning the US Supreme Court to appeal the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision to block a personhood ballot initiative in April. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled unanimously April 30th against a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma constitution that would grant “personhood” rights to human embryos, calling it “clearly unconstitutional.” Personhood Oklahoma launched a […]
The court case against a new Pennsylvania voter ID law began last week. Elderly women, members of minority populations, college students, Pennsylvanians with disabilities, and transgender individuals have testified in the case against the new law, claiming it would disenfranchise them. This law would require anyone voting in Pennsylvania to show specific government issued photo […]
The Democratic platform drafting committee approved a draft of the platform that includes marriage equality and workplace equality. A source from the Democratic Party confirmed to The Huffington Post that the committee unanimously decided to endorse same-sex marriage at a recent meeting in Minneapolis. Another platform committee will review the draft in two weeks in […]
In a case that has garnered a lot of international attention, the trial for Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot began in a Moscow court today. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Maria Alekhina, have been in jail in Russia since March, when the three women were arrested for performing a “provocative” song in Moscow’s main […]
On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge issued a temporary injunction, which allows Hercules Industries Inc. to avoid penalties for not providing contraceptives in its company’s health care plan. This controversial case is the first to successfully petition for a temporary exemption from the Affordable Care Act’s birth control requirement. Judge John Kane ruled that […]
Yesterday, the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-1 to pass a bill onto the Republican-dominated state Senate that would put unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers. The bill would require abortion facilities to be licensed as freestanding outpatient surgical facilities and force doctors to screen for women who may have been coerced into having the procedure. […]
Hillary Clinton announced over $150 million in new US initiatives to combat the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. The statement was made at a keynote address during the International AIDS 2012 Conference which is being held in Washington, DC this week. Puerto Rico is receiving two million dollars in federal funds, specifically meant to assist people on […]
As the XIX International AIDS Conference draws to a close tomorrow, the United State’s President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has announced a $5 million grant for the Together for Girls(TFG) partnership–designed to address violence against girls and boys. U.S. Global AIDS coordinator Eric Goosby says funds will go to “support countries’ responses to […]
Yesterday, the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-1 to pass a bill onto the Republican-dominated state Senate that would put unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers. The bill would require abortion facilities to be licensed as freestanding outpatient surgical facilities and force doctors to screen for women who may have been coerced into having the procedure. […]
Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tried to make abortion the primary issue in the Committee’s hearing today on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Despite their attempts, the treaty was voted out of Committee on a vote of 13-6 with three Republican Senators voting with the 10 Democrats on the […]
When I was a little girl growing up in Bangladesh, my sisters and I were obsessed with England’s Princess Diana. We used to spend hours studying any pictures of her we could get our hands on, try to get our hair cut like hers, and attempt to get our local tailor to make us dresses […]
Washington, DC, which is hosting the 2012 International AIDS Conference this week, has a higher HIV/AIDS infection rate than African countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria and Rwanda, ABC News reports. Approximately 3 percent of the city’s residents are infected with the virus with 7% of all Black males being HIV positive. Infection rates amongst Black […]
Women’s health and rights advocates marched on the streets of downtown Washington yesterday to raise awareness on AIDS, health care, gender and sexuality. At least a dozen nationwide groups participated in the march which began at the Washington Convention Center, where the International AIDS 2012 Conference is being held, and went down different streets toward […]
Monsignor William Lynn, the high-ranking Philadelphia Catholic Church official convicted of covering up priests’ sexual abuses in a landmark court case, was sentenced to three to six years in prison yesterday. The Washington Post reports that Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said Lynn “enabled monsters in clerical garb … to destroy the souls of […]
