The feminist movement mourns the loss of Dorothy Height, a dear friend and champion of civil rights and women’s rights, who died today at age 98. “I had the privilege of working with Dorothy Height for over 3 decades,” said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation. “She was always a strong, clear, unique […]
Today is Equal Pay Day, which is designed to increase public consciousness of the gap between men’s and women’s wages. This year, equal pay advocates are commemorating the passage of the 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Act and pushing for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. Equal Pay Day was established in 1996 and is celebrated annually […]
An Arkansas court struck down a law Friday that bans unmarried people who live with a partner of either sex from adopting or foster parenting in the state. The ban disproportionately impacted same sex couples because same-sex marriage is illegal in Arkansas. In 2008, 57 percent of voters in the state were in favor of […]
Lawyers for eight black workers who are suing Turner Industries Group, LLC, a large Louisiana based industrial construction company, released a letter from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states there is “reasonable cause” to believe that discrimination charges against the company are true. The allegations are largely based on incidents at the company’s […]
President Obama issued an executive memorandum yesterday ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to write new rules that will mandate equal visitation rights for all hospitals that participate in Medicaid or Medicare. In the memorandum, Obama writes that the new rules must require that “participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges on the […]
Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson (D) vetoed a bill Thursday that would have altered the definition of a viable fetus and require medical documentation for a late-term abortion. Parkinson followed in the footsteps of former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius, whose position he took in 2009, reported The Kansas Capitol-Journal. Sebelius had vetoed a similar bill before […]
Originally posted on Ms. blog by Angela Bonavoglia It was indeed outrageous that the Reverend Raniero Cantalamessa, with the Pope in eyeshot, compared the public outcry over the Catholic Church priest abuse scandal to homicidal anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany.
The average rate at which mothers die during childbirth has dropped globally by approximately 40 percent since 1980, according to a study recently released by The Lancet, a European medical journal. Afghanistan ranked highest, as reported by a research team led by Christopher J.L. Murray at the University of Washington, with 1,575 maternal deaths for […]
An 18-year-old Afghan woman was murdered in Kandahar, Afghanistan, as she left work Tuesday. The woman, whose first name was Hossai, worked at Development Alternatives, Inc., a United States-based development consulting company. Though the Taliban have not taken responsibility for her death, the Associated Press reports that Taliban extremists particularly target women who work for […]
US District Court Judge Tom Lee ordered the Walthall County School District in Mississippi yesterday to desegregate its classes within 30 days. The school reportedly had a transfer policy allowing white students to transfer to the district’s only predominantly white school and also “clustered” students in classrooms on the basis of race. According to Lee’s […]
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said yesterday that the House will likely consider legislation to establish the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) sometime this year. Hoyer told Congressional Quarterly, that “both of these issues are not new issues, and I frankly think that they’re going to be resolved, […]
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed two bills into law today that will restrict women’s access to abortion in the state. Nebraska is now the first state to restrict access to abortion by requiring a doctor to screen women for any mental or physical problems before they perform the procedure. The second new law outlaws abortion […]
Wilma Mankiller, 64, former Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation, passed away last week at her home near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, after losing her battle with pancreatic cancer. She was the first known woman chief of a major American Indian tribe. Mankiller was Chief from 1985 to 1995. During her tenure, the Cherokee Nation’s membership tripled […]
A so-called “pro-life pharmacy” in Chantilly, Virginia, closed in March due to lack of business. Divine Mercy Care, or DMC Pharmacy, was one of seven anti-choice pharmacies in the country, stated the Washington Times. Products excluded from DMC Pharmacy’s shelves included birth control pills, condoms, porn, tobacco and makeup, according to The Washington Post. Located […]
Dawn Johnsen withdrew her nomination to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) within the Department of Justice on Friday. Johnsen’s nomination has been held up for more than a year because of Republican opposition in Congress. She was first nominated in January 2009 and President Obama resubmitted her nomination […]
Earlier this month, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed complaints with the Senate Ethics Committee and the House Office of Congressional Ethics against members of Congress who reside or have resided at the C Street house that is the home of the so-called “Family”. CREW alleges that residents are violating congressional gift […]
A Yemeni child bride died earlier this month from severe internal bleeding just three days after being married to a man at least twice her age. Thirteen-year-old Elham Assi died on April 2nd after allegedly being tied down and raped by her husband, according to the Associated Press. The husband, Abed al-Hikmi, was arrested and […]
With pressure from feminists and pro-choice activists, teabaggers, and Republicans, Bart Stupak (D-MI) announced today he will not seek re-election. NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and NOW had endorsed his Democratic opponent, pro-choice Connie Saltonstall, and the Feminist Majority had announced a Dump Stupak/Pitts independent expenditure campaign. Stupak, Co-Chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, had managed to […]
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement from the high court today. Stevens sent a letter to President Obama today that read, “Having concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court’s next term, […]
Austin’s City Council approved “truth in advertising” for crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) Thursday, making the capital of Texas the second city in the US to enact the law. The ordinance states that “The Owner or Operator [of a CPC] shall prominently display, at the entrance of the Center, two black and white signs, one in […]
