Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed a bill on Thursday that prohibits abortions in the state after 20 weeks. The bill, passed earlier this week by the state legislature, essentially bans abortions after 18 weeks because gestational age of the fetus will be calculated based on the last menstrual period of the woman. In a press […]
An investigative report by BBC Journalist Natalia Antelava has revealed a government policy in Uzbekistan to sterilize women, mostly without their knowledge. Antelava gathered evidence that the government ran the sterilization program before she was deported from the country at the end of February. The BBC reports that many women were forcibly sterilized after giving […]
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) released a report on Monday showing the state-by-state status of the gender pay gap. The report, The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (PDF), was released in honor of Equal Pay Day, observed this year on April 17th. The AAUW reports that nationwide, women make 77% of […]
The four women who have served on the United States Supreme Court came together on Wednesday to honor the 30th anniversary of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s appointment to the bench. Current Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan joined Justice O’Connor at the Newseum in Washington, DC, for a panel discussion on the […]
A group of eight Planned Parenthood organizations filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas on Wednesday to prevent the state from excluding them from its Women’s Health Program. In March, Governor Rick Perry implemented a rule that excludes affiliates of abortion providers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, essentially cutting any government funding to […]
The teenage birth rate dropped to an historic low according to an April 2012 report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (PDF). According to the report, the birth rate dropped 9 percent between 2009 and 2010. The birth rate for 2010 was the lowest since 1946. Laura Lindberg of the Guttmacher […]
The Miss Universe Pageant changed its rules this week to allow transgender women to compete. The new rules have not yet been released but pageant officials say they are rewriting the language of the rules to allow transgender contestants. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told reporters from the Associated […]
The Arizona legislature approved a bill on Tuesday that would prohibit abortions in the state after 20 weeks. According to Think Progress , the bill can essentially ban abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy because gestational age of the fetus will be “calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant […]
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker quietly signed a set of over 50 bills last Thursday, many of which will have a direct impact on women’s health in the state. The bills include requiring teachers to stress abstinence-only sex education, barring abortion coverage through health insurance exchanges, and requiring doctors to consult privately with patients about abortion […]
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) condemned recent attacks on women last week during a local radio interview while visiting the town of Homer, Alaska. Her remarks were in response to a call-in question from a constituent who asked about her position on reproductive rights. Murkowski called the recent attacks made by radio show host Rush Limbaugh […]
Malawian Vice President and women’s rights activist Joyce Banda became the country’s first female president on Saturday when she was sworn in following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Supporters cheered on Saturday in celebration in the nation’s capital, Lilongwe. The south African country, which has undergone severe economic recession in recent years, was […]
An 87- year old woman was refused the right to vote in last week’s Wisconsin presidential primary due to a lack of proper identification as defined by the state’s new voting regulations. Wisconsin’s strict voter identification requirement, which requires a photo and address in order to vote in elections, was signed into law last year […]
A group of mothers and sisters of inmates in an Illinois prison protested the conditions of the facility this week. Tamms Correctional Center in Chicago has been cited for inhumane treatment of its inmates, often locking them up for 24 hours a day with little or no breaks or interaction with others. Relatives were joined […]
A group of 72 lawmakers in the U.S. House submitted a letter earlier this week calling on President Obama to issue an executive order instituting federal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people in the workplace. The administrative action would require that all companies doing business with the U.S. government enforce non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation […]
This morning, President Barack Obama, in addressing some 300 women leaders, activists, business leaders and entrepreneurs and academics at a White House Forum on Women and the Economy, emphasized the gains for women under his Administration, including increasing judicial appointments, preventive health care coverage, removal of sex discrimination in insurance pricing and saving teacher jobs. […]
Voters in Anchorage, Alaska overwhelmingly rejected an initiative on Tuesday that would add civil rights protections for gay citizens. Proposition Five would have extended the city’s civil rights laws to include protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. One Anchorage, a group advocating for gay rights in Alaska, organized the Proposition 5 campaign […]
The federal district court for the District of Columbia dismissed a case last week brought against the US Department of Education by the American Sports Council (ASC). The ASC argued that Title IX’s three-part test should not be applied to high schools. The test is used to determine whether schools provide equal opportunities for both […]
Coca-Cola announced yesterday that it would pull all support and membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Its announcement came in response to a campaign recently launched by ColorofChange.org asking businesses to pull sponsorship from ALEC. PepsiCo, whose membership expired in January, told Color of Change that it would not renew for 2012. ALEC […]
Xavier University announced yesterday that it will no longer provide contraceptive coverage for its employees. Xavier, a Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, said that its employee insurance plans will no longer cover birth control as of July 1. In his letter to the faculty announcing the change, Xavier president Michael J. Graham wrote that he […]
The American Civil Liberties Union will be allowed to pursue its case against a law in Kansas that restricts insurance plans from covering abortions. US District Judge Julie Robinson ruled against the state’s request to dismiss the ACLU’s challenge of the law. The ACLU argues that the law discriminates on the basis of gender. They […]
