Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian Human Rights lawyer, received an 11 year prison sentence. Sotoudeh was arrested in September and went to trial on November 15 for allegedly acting against state security, assembling, and collusion with intent to disrupt national security. She was also charged for working with the Center for Human Rights Defenders, which was […]
Last week, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in Florida and Representatives Annette Dub (D-NE) and Beau McCoy (R-NE) in Nebraska proposed bills that, if passed, would ban abortion coverage in insurance policies sold in state health insurance exchanges. The state exchanges are scheduled to begin operating in 2014. Representative McCoy’s bill, which was endorsed by Nebraska […]
Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords is fighting for her life in a Tucson hospital after having been shot in the head by a gunman while she conducted a “Congress on Your Corner” event in front of a market. Although she was listed in very critical condition after surgery, Dr. Peter Rhee, medical director of the trauma […]
Yesterday the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women protested an anti-abortion press conference, held by New York City clergy. Archbishop Timothy Dolan joined religious leaders in his call to reduce the number of abortions in New York City. Sean Fieler, an investment banker and the chair of the Chiaroscuro Foundation, coordinated the […]
The Office of Personnel Management released updated breast-feeding guidelines for federal employees in the executive branch. The new guidelines are consistent with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires that employers allow nursing mothers “a reasonable break time to express breast milk” for up to a year after giving birth. Federal employees must […]
Tina Tchen will replace Susan Sher as Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff, the White House announced yesterday. Tchen currently serves as the Director of the Office of Public Engagement and the Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Valerie Jarrett, Chair of the Council of Women and Girls, described Tchen as […]
John Boehner (R-OH), an opponent to women’s reproductive rights, was sworn in as the House Speaker yesterday. Boehner has made campaign promises to be the most “pro-life speaker in history.” Anti-abortion rights groups, including Susan B. Anthony List and Americans United for Life (AUL), announced plans to pressure Congress to pass the No Tax Payer […]
Today, as the U.S. Constitution is being read aloud on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Senator Robert Menendez, chief sponsors of the Equal Rights Amendment, called a press conference together with Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Co-Chair of the House Women’s Caucus and women’s rights leaders to draw attention to the […]
Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) will set a record as the longest woman to serve in the Senate when she is sworn in today. Senator Mikulski first took office in 1987 as one of only two women Senators. Currently, 17 women serve in the Senate. Senator Mikulski will begin her fifth term as senator, exceeding the […]
January 1 marked the first working day of UN Women, a UN agency created to promote gender equality and advance the rights of women. The UN General Assembly formed the agency through a resolution in July 2010. UN Women’s goals include fostering women’s equality, reducing violence against women, and empowering and providing greater opportunities for […]
Salman Taseer, the Governor of the Punjab Province and a senior member of the People’s Party of Pakistan, was shot and killed yesterday in Islamabad. Pakistani officials are investigating one of Taseer’s bodyguards, who cited Taseer’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws as his justification for committing the murder. Taseer was a vocal supporter of women’s […]
In an interview with California Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stated that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment does not prohibit discrimination against women and gays on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. He told the legal magazine, “Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The […]
Several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act that took effect January 1st will benefit individuals over 65, most of whom are women. Medicare recipients no longer have to share costs for preventive care including mammograms, cancer screenings, annual physicals and immunizations. Other provisions will begin to close the so-called “doughnut hole,” or gap between […]
On January 1, Dilma Rousseff was sworn into office and became Brazil’s first woman president. She took the oath of office alongside Vice President Michel Temer. In her inaugural address, Rousseff paid tribute to Brazil’s highly popular former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and described her plans to improve education and public healthcare and […]
The Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act, sponsored by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), passed the House on Tuesday night. The bill would have established shelters in six regions of the country and provide treatment and services to victims and new resources to law enforcement to prosecute sex traffickers. Mary Ellison, Director of […]
Last Friday, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released Invest in Women, Invest in America: A Comprehensive Review of Women in the US Economy, a study on women’s key role in the US economy and the outmoded framework for social support that places an increased burden on women struggling […]
This morning, President Obama fulfilled his campaign pledge to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) by signing the stand-alone bill to repeal the policy. On Saturday, the Senate voted 63 to 33 to end the Republican filibuster on the DADT legislation and 65 to 31 to repeal the bill. For the past 17 years, the […]
Last week, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released Invest in Women, Invest in America: A Comprehensive Review of Women in the US Economy, a study on women’s key role in the US economy, including women’s spending power. Women, according to the JEC report, control 73 percent of spending […]
The US Census released the 2010 population counts today, finding a 9.7 percent increase since 2000. As a result of population shifts, 10 states lost seats in the House of Representatives: Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. By contrast, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Carolina, Texas Utah, and Washington […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics released a report today that found that the birth rate for teenagers in 2009 fell six percent. This is the lowest teenage pregnancy rate recorded since 1940.
