Monsignor William Lynn was convicted of endangering children on Friday in the landmark case against him in Philadelphia, in which he was charged with child endangerment and conspiracy for allegedly failing to act in response to cases of priest sex abuse of children. Lynn was accused of not removing priests suspected of abusing children and […]
The National Center for Health Statistics, a department of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released a report this week that shows that both pregnancy and abortion rates for women in their twenties have fallen, and credited contraception access and use for the drop in rates. Between 1990 and 2008, pregnancy rates […]
A new poll released this week by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) shows that American voters overwhelmingly support access to affordable contraception. According to the poll (PDF), the Obama Administration’s rule under the Affordable Care Act that requires all employers, including religiously-affiliated employers, to include contraception coverage […]
A proposed Personhood amendment in Ohio likely will not be on the state ballot this November because the group circulating the petition has received only a small percentage of the necessary signatures. Personhood Ohio needs to collect 385,000 signatures in order for the Personhood amendment to be added to the ballot. With the deadline two […]
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch (D) vetoed a bill on Monday that would have classified the death of a fetus as homicide and vetoed two other bills on Wednesday that would have imposed restrictions on voting registration. One of the voter registration laws would have required a photo ID to register to vote and the […]
The Illinois State Attorney General and the Cook County State’s Attorney announced this week that they will not enforce the state’s ban on same-sex marriage and will not defend the law in court. Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez were expected to defend Illinois’ 16 year ban on same-sex marriage […]
The US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to approve two restrictions on abortion – one restricting abortion funding under the Affordable Care Act and one continuing a ban that does not allow DC to use its own funds to subsidize abortions for low income women. The Hill reports that the amendment to restrict […]
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced this week that 14 abortion clinics across the state have been given a reprieve from compliance with Amendment 122, a Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law. The amendment, passed in December 2011, went into effect yesterday. Under the law, clinics must comply with strict ambulatory surgical facility regulations […]
The US Senate voted yesterday against preserving around $4.5 million in food stamp, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), funding. The amendment to preserve the funding, part of a large farm bill, needed 60 votes to pass but was voted down in a 33 to 66 vote. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) offered the amendment to […]
A group of 41 Republican lawmakers in Iowa filed a petition with the state’s Department of Human Services this week, seeking to end government funded abortions in the state. The petition argues that funding abortions through Medicaid in cases of rape or incest violates state laws and the funding should be declared illegal. Under the […]
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch (D) vetoed a bill on Friday that would have banned late abortions in the state. According to New Hampshire Public Radio, the state Senate passed the bill in an 18 to 5 vote and the House passed it in a 224 to 110 vote. The bill was the only anti-abortion […]
In his new book, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia writes that the court should not give stare decisis effect, or precedential value, to Roe v. Wade. Under the doctrine of stare decisis, decisions made by the court must be respected, even if the justices interpret the decision to be based on “misguided readings of relevant […]
Thousands of pro-choice activists gathered outside the Michigan state capitol last night in protest and solidarity with a state representative who says she was banned from speaking in the legislature last week for using the word “vagina” on the floor of the House. State Representative Lisa Brown (D) used the word during a debate over […]
As a theater director, the first person I thought of when I heard the news from Michigan was Eve Ensler. I’ve directed The Vagina Monologues twice and, despite unsettling doubts that the play does not actually work as the V-Day events intend (to end violence), I loved doing it both times. In theater speak, The […]
Twenty-one years after she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi formally accepted the award, giving her acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway on Saturday. Suu Kyi, featured on the cover of Ms. Magazine’s Winter 2012 issue, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991 but was unable to accept in Oslo because […]
The Catholic Health Association (CHA) of the United States, the largest network of nonprofit hospitals and health facilities in the United States, announced on Friday that it would not support the Obama Administration’s accommodation on insurance coverage of birth control, reversing an earlier decision to support the accommodation. The Obama Administration announced in January that […]
The Virginia Board of Health voted on Friday to finalize restrictions of the state’s abortion clinics, or permanent targeted regulations of abortion providers (TRAP), and in a 7 to 4 vote the board passed an amendment to exempt existing clinics from building regulations that would have required substantial renovations. The law will still require that […]
A judge has ordered the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph into arbitration to determine if the diocese violated a 2008 settlement with victims who were sexually abused by priests. In the 2008 settlement, 47 plaintiffs settled their claims with the diocese for $10 million and an agreement that the diocese would make 19 […]
The Virginia Board of Health will vote today on permanent targeted regulations of abortion providers (TRAP) that will impose restrictions on the state’s abortion clinics. The state’s proposed regulations have been called the most restrictive policies in the country. Hundreds of activists gathered at the Board of Health meeting this morning to protest the TRAP […]
The Obama Administration announced today that it will no longer seek the deportation of young illegal immigrants without criminal records who came to the US as children, and instead allow them to apply for work permits, effective immediately. Individuals who meet five criteria will be eligible under the new deferred action process. The criteria require […]
