The United Kingdom’s first television ad for abortion services ran earlier this week. The ad (see 0video) is sponsored by Marie Stopes International (MSI), one of the world’s leading family planning organizations, and advertises MSI’s 24-hour hotline. The ad will not air in Northern Ireland, as abortion continues to be illegal there. The ad will […]
The Oklahoma state legislature overrode Governor Brad Henry’s (D) veto of a bill that will require doctors to report detailed information about patients seeking abortions to the government yesterday. The state Senate voted 33 to 15 in favor of the override yesterday and the state House had already voted 84 to 13 Monday. The legislation […]
District Court Judge Stefan Underhill granted class action status to a Title IX suit brought by the Quinnipiac University women’s volleyball team yesterday. Quinnipiac University is in Hamden, Connecticut. Judge Underhill ruled that “all present, prospective and future female students at Quinnipiac University who have been harmed by and want to end” sex discrimination in […]
Sponsors of a bill to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) have reached a deal with the White House to add an amendment to their bill that will require completion of a military review of the policy before a repeal can be enacted. Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Carl Levin (D-MI) and Representative Patrick Murphy […]
The Oklahoma state House voted 84 to 13 yesterday to override Governor Brad Henry’s (D) veto of a bill that would require doctors to report detailed information about patients seeking abortions to the government. This information would be posted online. According to Tulsa World, the state Senate will attempt an override vote sometime this week. […]
Feminists didn’t get everything we wanted in the historic health-insurance reform package passed in March: The lack of a public option and limits on abortion coverage were the most glaring setbacks, and a single-payer system wasn’t even considered. But bottom line, an additional 32 million Americans will gain health-care coverage—meaning that the vast majority in […]
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that 6,000 black applicants to the Chicago fire department can proceed with their discrimination lawsuit even though their complaint was filed more than 300 days after the incident. The group sued the city of Chicago under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, claiming that “the test […]
The French Council of Ministers approved a bill last week that would ban both the burqa and the niqab. This action sends the bill to the French Parliament for consideration. The burqa is a head-to-toe garment worn by some Muslim women and the niqab is a similar garment that has an opening for the eyes. […]
The Nebraska state Supreme Court ruled today that a 17-year-old woman, who was initially denied an abortion due to her age, can obtain an abortion without notifying her mother. The unnamed young woman does not know the identity of her father. The Court overturned a lower court’s decision, which ruled the woman had to inform […]
The US State Department released a statement yesterday condemning the sentencing of a gay Malawian couple to 14 years of hard labor. A court in Malawi found Steven Mojenza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, guilty of “unnatural acts” and “gross indecency” earlier this week. The statement says, “We view the criminalization of sexual orientation and […]
Without feminism, it would have been just another contraceptive By Elaine Tyler May, originally posted on Ms. magazine Fifty years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the oral contraceptive. As we mark that momentous anniversary, women have much to celebrate. The Pill changed the lives of millions of women and became one of […]
The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) was introduced in the US Senate today by Senator Al Franken (D-MN). If enacted, the
A Saudi Arabian woman who punched a religious police officer who was questioning her for illegal socialization with an unrelated male may face prison time and lashings. The couple, reportedly in their twenties, were walking in an amusement park in the city of Al-Mubarras when they encountered the police officer. According to AOL News, the […]
Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA) won the Pennsylvania Democratic primary for US Senate yesterday and ousted incumbent Arlen Specter (D-PA), who has held the seat for nearly 30 years, all but the past year as a Republican. Sestak had approximately 54 percent of the vote with 98 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. […]
A court in Malawi found a gay couple guilty of “unnatural acts” and “gross indecency” yesterday and will sentence the couple tomorrow. Steven Mojenza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, could face up to 14 years of hard labor. The couple were arrested at their home in December 2009 the day after celebrating their engagement with […]
Novartis Pharmaceuticals lost a class action sex discrimination suit yesterday in New York District Court. A jury found that Novartis violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and practiced sex discrimination against female employees, and pregnant women in particular, in terms of pay and opportunities for promotion. The complaint sought more than […]
A coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Arizona’s new immigration law yesterday. The suit was filed in a US District Court and asks for the law to be declared unconstitutional and to have it blocked from going into effect in July. According to the Associated Press, the new lawsuit is the fifth […]
A Catholic nun in Arizona was recently reassigned and “automatically excommunicated” following controversy after she approved an emergency abortion during a patient medical crisis late in 2009. Sister Margaret McBride was a senior administrator at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. A statement released by the hospital said, “In this tragic case, the treatment necessary to […]
The Missouri state House passed a bill expanding upon their existing abortion restrictions on the final day of their legislative session. The bill passed in the House on a 114 to 39 vote. It expands the states’ existing 24-hour waiting period and also includes a provision that would ban abortion coverage in the state’s to-be-created […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged that the United States will not abandon Afghan women and girls today as Afghan President Hamid Karzai is visiting the United States. According to the Associated Press, Clinton told three senior women Afghan officials who were traveling with Karzai that “We will not abandon you, we will stand with […]
