On Monday, the Supreme Court heard two procedural challenges to SB8, Texas’s six-week abortion ban that was enacted on September 1. The Court heard both United States v. Texas and Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, both challenging the law. US Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar argued that the law is unconstitutional and that if upheld, […]
ERA Coalition and 77 Organizations urge the A.G. to withdraw Trump administration anti-ERA memo
Yesterday (October 28th), Christopher Schroeder was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) by a vote of 56-41. Previously, he served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy under the Obama Administration. Under the Trump Administration, the head of the […]
President Biden Releases Build Back Better Framework
President Joe Biden released on Thursday a new framework for his Build Back Better agenda, which includes $1.75 trillion in investments to extend health care coverage and alleviate child poverty and combat climate change. Key to this framework is expanding the child tax credit (CTC) for one year, and establishing full refundability permanently, allowing low-income […]
Afghan Women Protest: “Why is the world watching us die in silence?”
A number of Afghan women took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday to protest the world’s silence over the current situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. Videos on social media show Afghan women activists gathering at the gates of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul and holding signs which […]
Supreme Court Will Hear Texas Abortion Ban Case November 1
On Friday, the Supreme Court said that they will not block Texas’ SB8, a near-total abortion ban, but will review the law on November 1st. The justices said that they will rule on whether the Justice Department and abortion providers can sue in federal court over the law, which was designed specifically to avoid judicial […]
UN Chief: “We Will Defend the Rights of Afghan Women and Girls”
On Saturday, Secretary-General of the UN António Guterres tweeted that “in Afghanistan, the UN is staying and delivering, and will continue to promote and defend the rights of women and girls. We will not stop until girls can go back to school, and women can return to their jobs and participate in public life.” Since […]
House Oversight and Reform Committee Holds Historic Hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment
On Thursday, the House Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing about the Equal Rights Amendment. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the Oversight Committee, started the hearing by stating that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has met all requirements for the adoption of a United States Constitutional Amendment. It was ratified by 2/3 of both […]
Fifty Years After Passage, the Equal Rights Amendment Is More Important Than Ever
This is an opinion piece written by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, published originally on Ms. online. Imagine for a moment that the Equal Rights Amendment had become part of the U.S. Constitution soon after Congress in 1972 sent it to the states for ratification. Many heartbreaking events would have been prevented, for both women and men. […]
Activists Arrested in Voting Rights Demonstration
Twenty-five activists were arrested in front of the White House on Tuesday. The Action was to urge President Biden to use his influence with the Senate to garner the votes needed for passage of the Voting Rights Act or to end the Filibuster. The activists were demonstrating for Voting Rights and demanding that Congress “fix […]
Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court to Block Texas Abortion Ban
On Monday, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to block SB8, a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks. The administration claims the measure is unconstitutional, and that it was purposefully designed to evade judicial review. The law was allowed to be put into effect on September 1, after the Supreme Court refused to block […]
Two Months in, the Taliban Continues to Abandon Girls’ Education
Earlier this week, at a speaking engagement in Doha, the foreign minister of the Taliban, Amir Khan Mottaqi avoided answering questions about education for women and girls and reiterated that they need more time on girls’ education. In response to questions on girls’ education, the Minister used “cultural appropriations” as the argument for not allowing […]
Appeals Court Puts Temporary Hold on Judge’s Order to Block Texas Abortion Ban
On Friday night, a federal appeals court placed a temporary hold on a federal judge’s order to block Texas’ SB8, an extreme, near-total abortion ban enacted last month. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Texas’ administrative stay request, after Judge Robert Pitman ruled to block the law last week, responding to a request from […]
Federal Judge Blocks Texas’ Abortion Ban
On Wednesday, a federal judge granted an emergency request from the Justice Department and blocked enforcement of Texas’s SB8, a law banning abortion after six weeks. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman said in his ruling that since SB8 went into effect in September, “women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives […]
Taliban Killings of Hazaras Continue
Evidence found by Amnesty International shows that Taliban forces unlawfully killed 13 Hazaras who are Shia Muslims, including a teenage girl and eleven Hazara members of the former Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) in Daykundi province on August 30. A previous Amnesty report released in August also found that the Taliban had “massacred” nine […]
The Taliban Announces Additional Government Officials, All Members of Their Old Guard
Early this week, the Taliban announced additional members of their cabinet, and once again, all of them are the old guard of the Taliban, despite promises of an inclusive government during peace talks. The 38 new members of the interim government of the Taliban were appointed to military and civilian positions. On September 7th, the Taliban announced […]
Tens of Thousands of People Rally for Abortion Justice in DC and Throughout the US
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in DC on Saturday to protest Texas’s SB8, a recently passed law that bans 85% of abortions and gives private citizens the power to sue anyone who provides financial or logistical assistance to someone in getting an abortion. Washington, DC’s march started at Freedom Plaza, and marchers walked over […]
U.S. Representatives Share their Personal Abortion Stories at Congressional Hearing
Several United States House Representatives, including Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), spoke at a House Oversight Committee hearing Thursday about their personal decisions to get an abortion. Rep. Cori Bush testified how she had been raped at 17 years old on a church trip, realized she was […]
Thousands of Protesters March to Demand Abortion Rights Across Latin America
In several Latin American countries, thousands of people marched for the right to safe and legal abortion on Tuesday, marking International Safe Abortion Day. Large groups of people marched to protest the restrictive and severely punitive abortion laws in many Latin American countries. Protesters held up signs with the slogans, “legal abortion for health and […]
The Taliban Continues to Silence Afghan Women Protestors
Videos and images shared on social media show that the Taliban are violently beating and harassing a group of women protestors demanding their rights for education in Kabul on Thursday. Women protesters were holding banners that read, “Do not politicize education. Don’t break our pens, don’t burn our books, don’t close our school, education is […]
Biden Administration Proposes New Rule to Protect DACA
The Biden administration published a rule Tuesday that could help to preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in the administration’s latest attempt to protect the program from legal challenges. The rule would cement DACA, protecting hundreds of thousands of people without documentation who were brought to this country as children from losing their ability […]