The U.S. Catholic Church requested that Congress overturn the contraceptive coverage provision under the Affordable Care Act in a letter on Friday. Written to members of Congress, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, asked that Congress overturn the federal contraceptive coverage requirement by the end of the year. The […]
On Thursday, Kansas District Judge Stephen Tatum dismissed 26 misdemeanor charges against the Kansas City-area Planned Parenthood Overland Park clinic. The clinic has been fighting a total of 107 criminal charges filed in 2007 by Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney General and abortion opponent. Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe requested the misdemeanor charges against […]
With all of the TV coverage, print and digital news, Facebook updates, Twitter hashtags and blog posts about what’s happening in London, we’ve gathered our favorite (and not so favorite) feminist moments and commentaries from the 2012 Summer Games. Please to share your thoughts in the comments below! for British weightlifter Zoe Smith, who spoke out […]
Today, President Obama nominated Pamela Ki Mai Chen to serve on a New York district court — upon confirmation, Chen would be the first Asian-American lesbian federal judge in US history. Chen’s nomination will expire unless the Senate confirms her before the end of this year. “I am proud to nominate this outstanding candidate to […]
On Tuesday, first-time political candidate Ted Cruz defeated Lt. Governor David Dewhurst in the Senate Republican runoff by more than 150,000 votes. Although he started his campaign relatively unknown nationally, his campaign eventually received endorsements from Tea Party favorites like Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, and Rand Paul. Cruz is expected to win in November. This […]
A Republican Senator from Utah, Mike Lee, is attempting to attach a DC abortion ban to a cybersecurity bill. Lee filed the “DC Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” as an amendment to the cybersecurity bill after the House defeated the original DC abortion ban bill on Tuesday night on a vote of 220-154 in favor […]
A bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia failed to get enough votes in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday. The vote was 220-154 in favor of the bill, falling short of a two-thirds majority required under suspension of the rules, and therefore will not proceed to the Senate. […]
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 […]
