Yesterday Dane County, Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi struck down a state law limiting the collective bargaining power of public sector unions to negotiate for benefits, hours, and working conditions. On March 18, Judge Sumi issued a temporarily blocked soon after the bill became law. Sumi stated in her decision that Republican lawmakers violated […]
Yesterday the US Senate voted 57 to 40 against a budget plan, written by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), which would end Medicare as we know it and turn it into a voucher program to buy private insurance as if any company would sell such a policy to an elderly person who is […]
Yesterday the New Hampshire state Senate passed a bill by a vote of 17 to 7 requiring at least one parent of a minor seeking an abortion receive written notification at least 48 hours prior to the procedure. The Senate voted against an amendment to the bill that would have allowed minors to forgo parental […]
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde officially announced her candidacy for the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) late Tuesday at a special press conference in Paris. After the IMF’s director Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned last Sunday, the search for a new manager has led to speculation surrounding Lagarde’s potential bid, and she has quickly gained […]
Yesterday Democrat Kathy Hochul defeated Republican Assemblywoman Jane Corwin in a special election in the 26th Congressional district of New York. Hochul captured 48 percent of the vote, while Corwin had 42 percent and independent Jack Davis had 9 percent. The district in western New York, held by Republicans since 1960, became vacant when Republican […]
In Nebraska, state Senators voted 38-9 yesterday on a bill banning the use of telemedicine to provide women with abortion services. The bill requires that a doctor be physically present with the patient when she takes mifepristone, also known as RU-486 or the abortion pill, to induce an abortion. The bill has already passed the […]
Yesterday the New Jersey Senate passed a bill by a vote of 26 to 13 that would restore $7.5 million to the state’s 58 women’s health clinics. Last year, Governor Chris Christie (R) cut all family planning funding from the state’s budget and vetoed the attempts of the state Senate and Assembly to restore it. […]
A proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage will be decided by Minnesota voters next year after the Minnesota House on Saturday approved placing the amendment on the state ballot in November 2012. Minnesota already prohibits same-sex marriage, but backers say this amendment will prevent any legalization in the future. The amendment, if approved by voters, […]
The United Kingdom Department of Health released a report today revealing that everyday 12 women travel from Ireland, where abortion is not legal, to Great Britain to obtain abortion services. In 2010, 4,402 Irish residents sought abortions in England or Wales. Niall Behan, Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) chief executive, clarified, “These figures serve to […]
The New Jersey state Senate is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would restore $7.5 to the state’s 58 women’s health clinics. Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who is sponsoring the bill, stated that six clinics have closed since Governor Chris Christie (R) cut funding last year. Governor Christie said that he believes that […]
Late last week, 16 countries (see list here), 9 of which are from the African continent, pledged their commitments to reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality, as part of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. The countries, supported by UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, the World Bank, and WHO, will focus on promoting increased contraceptive […]
Planned Parenthood of Indiana has received thousands of dollars in donations after a bill signed early last week by Governor Mitch Daniels made Indiana the first state in the nation to cut state and federal funding for the organization. Over $50,000 has been donated by people in 44 states and countries such as Belgium and […]
Studies released Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute and the Brookings Institution show that unintended pregnancies in the U.S. cost taxpayers roughly $11 billion per year. The Guttmacher Institute notes that this estimate is conservative, as it is only considers public insurance costs for pregnancy and first-year infant care. The studies also find that government programs […]
On Tuesday, Yale University Dean Mary Miller announced that the university’s chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity will be suspended after its pledged chanted “no means yes, yes means anal” at an initiation event last fall. DKE will be barred from holding any activities on Yale’s campus for five years. Former Presidents George […]
The report of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics which found that former Nevada Senator John Ensign violated Senate ethics, rules and federal law, also revealed that Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) was involved in the cover-up of Ensign’s affair. The report, released last week, raises questions about whether Senator Coburn violated Senate rules and law […]
On Monday, Senator John Boozman (R-AR) introduced a bill that would require that the parents of minors seeking abortion services be notified by certified mail and that doctors wait at least four days before performing an abortion. Doctors who do not abide by the requirement could be fined up to $1 million and have to […]
Dorothy Parvaz, 39, an Iranian-born US citizen and Al-Jazeera reporter who went missing while covering the uprisings against Syrian President Bashar Assad, was released after begin detained in Syria and deported and held in Tehran for 19 days. Parvaz arrived in Qatar yesterday and will soon fly to Vancouver BC to reunite with her fiance […]
Yesterday, the Iowa Senate voted along party lines 26-23 to pass a bill that seeks to prohibit Dr. LeRoy Carhart from opening a clinic in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The bill mandates that clinics offering abortion services after 20 weeks, which would include Dr. Carhart’s proposed clinic, be located near a hospital with an intensive care […]
Yesterday Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) signed SB 36, a bill requiring that abortion clinics in Kansas be inspected two times per year, one of which must be unannounced. The bill would also prohibit the clinics from prescribing mifepristone, also known as RU-486 or the abortion pill, remotely through telemedicine. The law will go into […]
Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, introduced provisions to the National Defense Authorization to address the issue of sexual assault in the military late last week. If passed, the bill would create confidentiality policies for victims of sexual assault, increase trainings on sexual assault, and create an easier process for […]
