A Georgia bill that sought to criminalize abortions on the basis of race died in the state House’s Rules Committee on the final day of the legislative session Friday. The bill had been approved by the state Senate in March on a 33 to 14 vote. The state House’s Judiciary Non-Civil Committee voted 7 to […]
The Kansas state House failed to override Governor Mark Parkinson’s (D) veto on an anti-choice bill Friday. Parkinson vetoed the bill, which would have altered the definition of a viable fetus and require medical documentation for a late-term abortion, in April. According to the Associated Press, the state House failed to achieve the two-thirds majority […]
The United States Navy announced yesterday that women are no longer banned from military submarines. The first women will begin serving on submarines in 2012. The change was announced immediately after a 30 day waiting period for Congress to object to the move expired. US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates informed Congress in February of […]
The Hawaii state House voted in favor of legalizing civil unions in the state yesterday after an unexpected decision by the bill’s sponsor to revive the legislation. The House voted in favor of the bill on a 31 to 20 vote. The Hawaii state Senate voted in January in favor of legalizing civil unions in […]
A formal investigation into Nigerian Senator Ahmed Yerima’s alleged marriage to an underage girl was launched yesterday by Nigeria’s parliament. A local newspaper reported yesterday that Yerima claimed his new wife is older than 13, but did not specify her age, according to the Washington Post. He reportedly paid a dowry worth $100,000 to the […]
The Republican-majority Florida Senate pushed three separate anti-abortion measures through Wednesday. Two of the measures are amendments to a larger health care bill (HB 1143). One of these amendments, passed on a 24 to 11 vote mostly along party lines, forbids state or federal funds for the use of abortions, except in cases of rape […]
Feminists worldwide are outraged over an attempt by Iran to gain a seat on the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Iran reportedly withdrew a bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights council and announced candidacy for membership in the commission last week, according to Radio Free Europe. The […]
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed a lawsuit yesterday to stop the enforcement of a new Oklahoma state law that extends existing ultrasound requirements for women seeking an abortion. The law in question requires medical professionals to show women the ultrasound image and give women a detailed description of the fetus. The lawsuit argues […]
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) introduced the Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act of 2010 late last week. According to Congresswoman Clarke’s press release, the bill (HR 5121), “seeks to strengthen and expand the U.S. government’s current program on international family planning and reproductive health into a more comprehensive sexual and reproductive health program.” Its specific […]
San Francisco’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 6 to 5 Monday in a ruling that means a gender discrimination lawsuit filed against Walmart Stores, Inc., can move forward to trial. According to The Washington Post, the class-action lawsuit was initially filed in 2001 by Betty Dukes, a former Walmart employee, and six other plaintiffs […]
The Oklahoma state Senate voted to override the vetoes of two anti-choice bills vetoed Friday by Governor Brad Henry. The Oklahoma state House voted overwhelmingly to override the vetoes yesterday. Existing state law requires women to view an ultrasound prior to an abortion. The first of the two new laws requires medical professionals to also […]
At least 88 Afghan schoolgirls and teachers have become ill after suspected poison gas attacks at three schools in the past week. All three schools are in Kunduz Province in northern Afghanistan. Humayun Khamoosh, who runs the Central Hospital in Kunduz, which treated many of the girls, told Press TV that the victims “complained of […]
The Mary Horrigan Connors Center For Women’s Health and Gender Biology released a report today on women and lung cancer. The report (see PDF), entitled Out of the Shadows: Women and Lung Cancer, comprehensively examines lung cancer and its risk factors related to women, screening, treatment and survival rates, racial and ethnic disparities, and health […]
The Mississippi and Louisiana state legislatures are both moving to pass legislation that would ban abortion coverage in each state’s respective health insurance exchange being created as a result of the new federal health care package. Anti-choice legislation in Missouri also includes a provision that would ban abortion coverage in their insurance exchange. In Mississippi, […]
The Missouri state Senate passed a bill Thursday on a 26 to 5 vote to expand upon their existing abortion restrictions such as a 24-hour waiting period prior to the procedure. The bill includes a provision that would ban abortion coverage in the state’s to-be-created health insurance exchange mandated by the new federal health reform […]
Both the Tennessee state House and state Senate passed a bill this week that would ban offering abortion coverage in the state’s to-be-created health insurance exchange. If Governor Philip Bredesen (D) approves the bill, Tennessee will become the first state to legislate against the inclusion of abortion coverage in the state insurance changes created by […]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced yesterday that he plans to introduce a ban prohibiting women from wearing a full veil in public. According to Radio France Internationale, Sarkozy plans to move forward to legislate a ban on the wearing of the burqa in public despite warnings from France’s State Council that such a law may […]
The Oklahoma Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed five new abortion restriction bills Monday. Several bills will be sent to Governor Brad Henry (R) for approval, while others will be sent back to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for further debate, reported the Associated Press. An existing state law requires women to view an […]
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a case where the University of California’s Hastings College of Law has refused to recognize a student group, the Christian Legal Society (CLS), because it violates the school’s anti-discrimination policies by banning all non-Christian and all lesbian or gay students from membership. The CLS originally filed suit […]
The Obama Administration will rescind a Bush-era sports policy regulation on Title IX. Title IX was originally created to prohibit discrimination in education on the basis of sex. According to BusinessWeek, Vice President Joseph Biden said in a statement, “Making Title IX as strong as possible is a no-brainer. What we’re doing here today will […]
