News

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 […]

The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE) released a report on Monday, Title IX at 40: Working to Ensure Gender Equity in Education. The report notes progress for girls and women in athletics and college attainment, but it also identifies continued major inequities for males and females in career and technical education, […]

A global poll released yesterday found that of the G20 countries, India is the most dangerous country for girls and women’s rights and Canada offers the most protections. Experts, including aid workers, academics, health professionals, journalists, and development experts, were asked to rank the countries on six categories – quality of health, freedom from violence, […]

A group of US Catholic nuns will embark on a multi-state bus tour starting next Monday, following a week in which the Catholic Church hierarchy received public attention for reprimanding nuns for focusing on issues of poverty, was forced to defend its fight against birth control, and has been embattled with state legislatures over sex […]

Hundreds of pro-choice advocates protested Michigan’s proposed package of anti-abortion legislation in the state’s Capitol yesterday. Women and men, many of whom wore pink Planned Parenthood t-shirts, chanted on the lawn and occupied the balconies of the House as legislators discussed the bills. According to the Associated Press, Planned Parenthood’s presence stemmed from their exclusion […]

A US Senate hearing held yesterday on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) marked the first time a transgender person testified before the Senate. Kylar Broadus, founder of the Trans People of Color Coalition, spoke in favor of ENDA, which has been introduced in Congress in every session since 1994. The bill would prohibit employers from […]

North Dakota voters soundly rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment yesterday that would have granted “the right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief” even if such actions are otherwise illegal. Sixty-four percent of voters rejected the measure and only thirty-six percent voted in favor of […]

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged female activists across the world to pursue leadership roles and create change in their countries yesterday during the opening ceremonies of the first Women in Public Service Institute. The institute, held at Secretary Clinton’s alma mater Wellesley College, is a collaboration between the US Department of State, Wellesley, […]

The Associated Press reported on Monday that the Kansas attorney general’s office spent over $644,000 last year on private legal counsel to defend three major anti-choice and anti-abortion laws enacted by the state. Approximately $200,000 was used to pay the firm Thompson, Ramsdell & Qualseth of Lawrence to defend two restrictive state laws attacking abortion […]

The state of Connecticut declared abortion an “essential health benefit” last week and, as a result, the procedure must be covered by the state’s health exchange under the Affordable Care Act. A state health panel voted unanimously to consider all abortions – not just abortions in cases of rape, incest, or to save the woman’s […]

A high school in Los Angeles with high rates of teenage pregnancy has partnered with Planned Parenthood to offer free birth control and emergency contraception in a clinic on the school’s campus. The clinic at Roosevelt High School, a school in a low income neighborhood of Los Angeles, serves as a primary care clinic, though […]

A nun censured by the Vatican last week for writing a book on sexuality has gained national attention and her book has shot up the bestseller list, six years after it was first released. Sister Margaret A. Farley’s book, “Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics,” focuses on sexuality and veers from the Church’s […]

A new report found that the rate of violent crimes against women in Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala has drastically increased, reaching crisis level. The report, researched by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Jody Williams and Rogoberta Menchu on a 10-day fact finding mission, shows that increased militarization in the countries has disproportionately affected women. According to […]