Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed a bill into law on Monday that gives pharmacists the right to deny women any drug that the pharmacist believes can cause an abortion. Critics have argued that the bill can give pharmacists the right to deny contraception or the morning after pill to women because under the law, pharmacists […]
A study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute and published in the June 2012 edition of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health demonstrates the link between knowledge of contraceptive methods and avoidance of risky behaviors among young adults. The Guttmacher institute collected data from a nationally representative sample of 1,800 sexually active people between the ages […]
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed a law on Friday banning schools in the state from teaching students about “gateway sexual activity” in sex education classes. According to drafters of the bill, so-called gateway sexual activity includes any type of “intentional touching of the primary genital area, groin, inner thigh, buttock or breast of a human […]
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a law on Friday that expands an exemption to a state law that requires employers to include birth control coverage in their health plans’ coverage of prescription medication. Under a law passed in Arizona in 2002, employers’ health plans must include contraception coverage if the plans cover prescriptions, unless the […]
Yesterday, District Judge James Reynolds ruled unconstitutional Montana’s ban on birth control coverage for teenage girls who are insured by the state’s low-income health insurance program for minors, Healthy Montana Kids. He concluded that the law “violates the right of privacy and the rights of persons not adults set forth in the Montana Constitution.” In […]
The House on Thursday passed a plan to increase military spending while slashing funding for food and child care programs, as well as Medicaid and federal employees’ benefits. The budget proposal, written by House Budget Committee chairman Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI1), was an attempt to avoid the cuts to defense spending mandated in last summer’s […]
by Terry O’Neill, National Organization for Women In time for Mothers Day, the 12th HERvotes blog carnival is dedicated to getting the word out about economic security for women, especially in their retirement years. Women need better benefits — not cuts — under social safety net programs. The economic slump in both the U.S. and […]
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has launched an official inquiry into Girls Scouts USA. At the end of March, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne wrote a letter expressing his concerns about the Girl Scouts relationship to groups that promote birth control and contraceptives, such as Sierra Club and Doctors Without Borders, and […]
by Audrey Bilger It’s official. After a week of speculation about whether the White House was going to take a strong stand on marriage equality, President Obama has gone on record in support of same-sex marriage rights. After explaining how his views have changed over the years, the President said the words that many of […]
This week, Utah became the only state in the country to enact a law that requires a 72- hour waiting period for a woman seeking an abortion. The state measure, passed earlier this year and enacted on Tuesday, requires a woman seeking an abortion to undergo a face-to-face consultation with a medical practitioner at a […]
Yesterday, President Obama became the first sitting president in history to support lesbian and gay marriage. This is a monumental victory for lesbian and gay rights. In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, President Obama said that “gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally….at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for […]
The House Judiciary Committee passed the Cantor/Adams VAWA Reauthorization bill in a nearly straight party line vote yesterday. Only one Republican, Ted Poe (TX-2), joined the Democrats in voting no. The Committee, in denying consideration of the substitute bill of Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), essentially rejected what Vice President Biden (the principal author of […]
Voters in North Carolina passed a constitutional amendment last night that defines marriage as the legal union between a man and a woman. Amendment One, or the Defense of Marriage Act, not only outlaws same-sex marriage, which was already illegal in the state, it also bans domestic partnerships for gay or straight couples. With all […]
A report released last week by NPR breaks down the gender distribution across industries and sectors. The report compares the percentage of women in various industries from 1972 to today. The proportion of women has increased in the government sector (from 42.7% to 56.8%), leisure and hospitality (from 38.8% to 52.5%), and financial activities (from […]
A Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released last week shows that not only are more teenage girls using contraception but also that girls are choosing more effective types of contraception. 60% of the teenagers between 15 and 19 years old are using birth control methods that are rated as highly effective methods. […]
In the 3rd ruling in this case in a week, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Texas cannot exclude Planned Parenthood from its state women’s health program, pending the hearing of formal arguments. The most recent ruling reversed an emergency stay issued earlier last week that allowed Texas […]
Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed into law on Friday a bill that will prevent the allocation of public funds to abortion providers in the state. Ironically titled the “Whole Women’s Health Funding Priority Act,” the law will cut all funding for health services delivered by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, effecting the nearly […]
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 unconstitutional. Earlier in the month, the state House defeated the Personhood bill. The House Republican Caucus announced they would not take up the controversial bill, saying the decision was […]
by Kristen Schuetz “What do we do when women’s rights are under attack? Stand up, fight back!” That was the call that rang through downtown Los Angeles last Saturday, April 28, in protest against the ever-present War On Women, which has dragged on since Congress’ introduction of the “let women die” bill in early 2011. […]
The Oklahoma State House unanimously passed a bill yesterday that allows for patients to sue abortion providers or doctors who prescribe the medication for an abortion. Under House Bill 2561, patients, or the parents of a minor patient, can sue the abortion provider if anything goes wrong during the abortion or if the patient believes […]
