Yesterday Sam’s Club announced their decision to withdraw ads from The Rush Limbaugh Show, following in the footsteps of over 150 other businesses. Advertisers have been fleeing from association with Limbaugh’s show since the talk show host’s sexist rants against Georgetown Law student and women’s rights advocate Sandra Fluke in March. Eleanor Smeal, President of […]
Senate Democrats, including Barbara Boxer (CA), Patty Murray (WA), and Richard Blumenthal (CT), went to the Senate Floor yesterday to ask the House Republican leadership to pass the bipartisan Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate passed the VAWA reauthorization in April with provisions to increase protections on college campuses in […]
Sally Ride, who made history as the first American woman in space in 1983, passed away on Monday at age 61 from a 17 month battle with pancreatic cancer. In addition to her achievements as an astronaut, Ride held a Ph.D. in astrophysics and was a lifelong advocate of women and girls in science, technology, […]
Air Force Staff Sergeant Luis Walker was found guilty of 28 rape and sexual assault charges by a military jury Friday and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Walker was convicted of sexually abusing 10 women Air Force trainees. In addition to the prison sentence, Walker will also be demoted to the lowest Air […]
The ACLU of Arizona released thousands of emails last week that they argue prove that SB1070, Arizona’s harmful anti-immigrant law, was racially motivated. The emails are cited in a new legal effort by the ACLU to challenge the remaining provision of SB1070 that requires police to determine the immigration status of anyone arrested or detained […]
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has called for the decriminalization of homosexuality everywhere in the world as a necessary step in combating HIV/AIDS. The archbishop wrote in The Lancet last week, arguing that increasing acceptance and reducing stigma of homosexuality is a crucial step in the fight against HIV/AIDS. His statements appeared in The […]
Join thousands of activists in Washington, DC or online this week for the 2012 International AIDS Conference! You can find information about in person registration here, but there is also a parallel and FREE “Global Village,” where advocates and activists from around the world will gather, have booths, hold workshops, and share ideas. Some workshops […]
Anti-abortion extremist groups – Operation Rescue and Operation Rescue/Operation Save America (OSA) – are out in force in Charlotte, North Carolina. But dozens of pro-choice supporters outnumbered their ranks on Saturday, the first day of the anti-abortion extremists national week-long siege targeting Charlotte clinics.
In an interview with the Philadelphia Gay News, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), chair of the Democratic National Committee, backed the inclusion of marriage equality in the party platform. “I hope that marriage equality, and expect that marriage equality, will be part of our platform,” Rep. Wasserman Shultz said. In May, President Obama became the […]
Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to pass a ban on abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia. Introduced by Representative Trent Franks (Ariz.) in January, HR3803 prohibits physicians from providing abortions at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless the woman’s life is at stake. The passage of the […]
A federal judge in Nebraska dismissed a federal lawsuit yesterday that sought to block part of the new healthcare policy that will require insurance plans to cover birth control with no co-pays. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys general in seven states – Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, and Texas, claimed that the contraception […]
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appointed anti-choice obstetrician Dr. John W. Seed to the Virginia Board of Health this week. He is a vocal public opponent of legal first-trimester abortion. He serves as vice-chairman of anti-choice group “OBGYNS for Life”; is a member of the “medical resource council” of The Family Foundation, a religiously-based anti-choice group; […]
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli refused to certify the new Virginia targeted regulations of abortion providers (TRAP) yesterday that were passed by the Virginia Board of Health last month. The regulations contain an amendment, added in a 7 to 4 vote by the Board of Health, that exempts existing clinics from building regulations that would […]
A Judge ruled on Friday to let a strict new anti-choice law stand, but will allow Mississippi’s lone abortion clinic more time to comply with the new regulations. Under this law, House Bill 1390, doctors must have admitting privileges at a local hospital and they must be board certified OB-GYNs. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, […]
Today, Air Force Sergeant Luis Walker’s court-martial in the Lackland Air Force Base sexual abuse scandal begins in Texas. Walker faces 28 charges including multiple counts of rape, aggravated sexual contact and aggravated sexual assault. If convicted of all counts, he could get life in prison and a dishonorable discharge. A seven-member jury of military-personnel […]
The Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Thursday in an attempt to block an anti-choice law in Arizona. The law was signed into effect by Governor Jan Brewer this April, and is scheduled to go into effect August 2nd. The law prohibits women from getting an abortion […]
Hanifa Safi, a provincial head of women’s affairs, was assassinated on Friday in Afghanistan. Safi was driving with her husband and daughter when a car bomb exploded, killing Safi and leaving her husband in a coma. Safi was the department head for women’s affairs in the Laghman province, and was a prominent advocate for women’s […]
The first lesbian Super PAC, LPAC, was launched yesterday. LPAC, which is supported by actress Jane Lynch and tennis star Billie Jean King, will support pro-lesbian candidates and issues. LPAC has already received pledges of $200,000 and aims to raise one million dollars this election cycle. The group has not announced which candidates or issues […]
The FDA approved the first at-home HIV test this past Tuesday. The OraQuick test, manufactured by OraSure, uses a mouth swab to provide test results within 20 to 40 minutes. Advocates in the HIV/AIDS community are praising the potential effects of the test on lowering infection rates. Transmission rates of HIV can be lowered by […]
Following in the footsteps of many major businesses, including Toyota, Geico, and McDonald’s, UPS denounced Rush Limbaugh’s misogynistic rhetoric by pulling their ads from the Rush Limbaugh radio show on July 3rd. Huffington Post reports that UPS received a number of complaints on Twitter about the appearance of their ads on his show. The total […]
