On Monday, a subcommittee of the Iowa House Human Resources Committee passed an extreme anti-abortion bill (HF 153), introduced by Representative Kim Pearson (R-Pleasant Hill), that would ban abortions in Iowa even in cases of rape and incest. If passed, the bill, which defines life as beginning at conception would reverse Roe v. Wade, the […]
A press conference was held this morning to announce a lawsuit filed by attorney Susan Burke in the Eastern Virginia federal court against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for failing to prevent, investigate, and prosecute the sexual assault and rape of the 17 plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in the case […]
In South Dakota, an extreme anti-abortion bill (HR 1171) that would alter the definition of “justifiable homicide” to include killings aimed to prevent harm to an unborn child passed out of the state’s House Judiciary Committee by a vote of nine to three. Vicki Saporta, the president of the National Abortion Federation, told Mother Jones, […]
Today President Obama released his 2012 Budget, which poses a direct contrast to the massive cuts to programs that benefit women and girls proposed by House Republican in the Continuing Resolution (CR) for funding FY 2011. The proposed budget would decrease funding for the Department of Defense by $78 billion over the next five years, […]
Republicans propose massive cuts in programs that benefit women as they propose increases in Defense spending of $8.1 billion. The House begins consideration of the Continuing Resolution (CR) for funding FY 2011 without which the government will shut down on March 4. Republicans would eliminate Title X domestic family planning programs with a massive cut […]
Today President Obama released his 2012 Budget, which poses a direct contrast to the massive cuts to programs that benefit women and girls proposed by House Republican in the Continuing Resolution (CR) for funding FY 2011. The proposed budget would decrease funding for the Department of Defense by $78 billion over the next five years, […]
Reverend Martin P. O’Loghlen, a priest accused in 1999 of having a sexual relationship with a teenage girl, has recently been removed from his parish in Los Angeles. The vicar of clergy, Msgr. Michael Myers, also announced his resignation. After having been contacted multiple times by Reverend O’Loghlen, Julie Malcolm filed a lawsuit against the […]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced yesterday that it would allow nursing mothers to receive a tax break for pumps and other breastfeeding supplies. Nursing mothers can now use their pretax dollars from flexible spending accounts to pay for these items. Women without flexible spending accounts can deduct breastfeeding costs if such expenses are more […]
The Ministry of Justice of the Afghan government is considering adopting a new regulation that would require women fleeing domestic violence situations to appear before an eight-person government panel before obtaining shelter. Under the new regulation, the shelters, which are currently funded by international organizations, Western governments, and individual donors, would be placed under the […]
Representative Hal Rogers (R-KY), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced a list of 70 spending cuts to be included in the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution bill, including a $327 million cut in family planning funds. In 2010, $317 million in federal funding was allocated to family planning programs. Cecile Richards, President of the Planned […]
The Raleigh school board recently decided to end its diversity policy in favor of establishing neighborhood schools, prompting much criticism and protest. The North Carolina NAACP, accusing the school board of re-segregation, filed a civil rights complaint. Reverand Dr. William J. Barber, NC NAACP State President, stated, “The segregation of schools by socioeconomic status inevitably […]
US Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Al Franken (D-MN), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) held a press conference yesterday to speak out against two extreme anti-women’s rights measures introduced by House Republicans to restrict women’s access to health care and reproductive health services. The House Judiciary Committee’s Constitution Subcommittee held a […]
A joint program between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that over 6,000 communities in Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal, Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Guinea and Somalia have abandoned the practice of female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C). Nafissatou Diop, coordinator of the UNFPA-UNICEF program, stated, “We are working […]
Representative Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta) introduced a bill that would change the language of state criminal codes to refer to those who file charges for rape, stalking, and domestic violence as accusers, not victims, until there has been a conviction. Carolyn Fiddler, communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, explained recent outrage regarding the bill, […]
A recently released study from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) revealed that in 2009 the US teen birth rate reached the lowest level ever recorded. Although the decline in the teen birth rate had stalled from 2005 to 2007, the study indicates that declining trend has resumed. The study supports the government’s preliminary […]
The Pennsylvania state Senate will vote today on Senate Bill 3, introduced by Senator Don White (R-11), which would prohibit private insurance plans sold in the Pennsylvania health insurance exchange from covering abortion services, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is endangered. The Senate Banking Committee passed the bill on […]
On Saturday, 40 women gathered at the Interior Ministry in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to call for the release of prisoners who were being detained without a trial. The prisoners are being held as part of the Saudi government’s campaign to contain al Qaeda insurgents. Mohammed al-Qahtani, an activist, told the New York Times, “The women […]
Following an outcry from women’s rights groups and others, House Republicans have removed the “forcible” to describe the rape exception in H.R. 3, an anti-abortion bill introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Congressional Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair, with the support of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA). The bill, which purports […]
Yesterday, Green Bay Dressed Beef of Wisconsin, a division of American Foods Group LLC, agreed to pay $1.65 million to 970 women who were barred from general laborer positions at the plant in 2006 and 2007. Following an investigation, the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFFCP) found that the company […]
Yesterday, the Senate voted along party lines to block the Patients’ Rights Repeal Act, with all 47 Republicans voting for the bill, 51 Democrats voting against it, and two Democrats not voting. Since the bill failed to achieve the necessary 60 votes to pass, it is considered dead in Congress. On January 19, the House […]
