After a three-month trial, Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia has been found guilty of one count of endangering children in the archdiocese for which he served as secretary of clergy from 1992 to 2004. Lynn is now the first senior church official to be convicted of a cover-up in the priest sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church over the last 10 years. He faces 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison.
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) announced the release of a multi-year study (2007-10) of single-sex education in U.S. K-12 public schools today. This study reveals that after the Bush Department of Education weakened previous Title IX restrictions on sex segregated education in K-12 public schools in 2006, over 1,000 public schools sex segregated at least […]
A Kansas doctor’s medical license was revoked on Friday over allegations that she did not provide adequate mental health exams on patients she referred to the late Dr. George Tiller for late abortions. A judge ordered the license of the doctor, Ann Kristin Neuhaus, be revoked in February, and the decision was sent to the […]
The New Jersey State Senate voted yesterday to restore the state’s family planning funds, two years after Governor Chris Christie defunded the state’s women’s health programs. In a 27-10 vote, the State Senate approved a bill that restores nearly $7.5 million in family planning funding. Christie said he defunded family planning services for budget reasons, […]
I could go on. But if you’ve seen any of the news on the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, you know it did not live up to the hype. Ask anyone from any sector–oceans, food security, education, energy–and they will all express disappointment. But for those of us advancing the sexual and reproductive rights of women, Rio+20 has been particularly disappointing.
Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that it will reverse its ban and allow women to compete in the Olympic Games. Saudi Arabia’s decision means that this summer’s Olympics in London will be the first in which every participating country permits women to compete. Saudi Arabia was under international pressure to reverse its ban on women […]
The US Supreme Court issued three opinions this morning, including a ruling on the controversial immigration law in Arizona. In a 5-3 split decision (Justice Kagan did not participate, presumably because she worked on the case as President Obama’s solicitor general), the court struck down the provisions of the law that prohibited undocumented immigrants from […]
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 […]
