Two companion bills were introduced in the Washington state House and Senate yesterday that seek to institute truth in advertising laws for crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) in the state. If enacted, the bills would require CPCs to disclose that they do not provide information or referrals for abortion or birth control and that they do […]
The Supreme Court issued an unsigned 5 to 4 opinion yesterday barring broadcasting of the Proposition 8 trial. The court’s liberal bloc issued a dissent, in which Justice Stephen Breyer argued that the court’s majority “identifies no real harm” from broadcasting the trial’s proceedings, “let alone irreparable harm to justify its issuance of this stay,” […]
A new Rasmussen poll released yesterday shows Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Democratic nominee to fill the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, holding a slim two point lead over Republican nominee State Senator Scott Brown. Massachusetts has not elected a Republican US Senator since 1972. Coakley and Brown will face off in […]
Judge Warren Wilbert ruled for the second time yesterday that Scott Roeder, who has confessed to allegedly murdering George Tiller, MD, in May 2009, can pursue a voluntary manslaughter defense. Wilbert first ruled on Friday of last week to allow evidence in support of a voluntary manslaughter verdict. Roeder has attempted to justify the murder […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement yesterday urging the release of several dozen Iranian women activists who have been imprisoned since the weekend. The women are members of a group called Mourning Mothers, which was formed after the widely publicized death of Neda Agha-Soltan last summer. Clinton said, “The United States urges the […]
Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation and the Feminist Majority, announced today that Kim Gandy has become Vice President and General Counsel of both organizations. In a statement, Smeal said, “we are very proud that Kim, who had many offers after having been recently term limited in her position as National Organization for […]
Under legislation introduced by Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), emergency contraception (EC) would become available to all service members at all US military bases worldwide. The Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act would add EC to the basic core formulary, a list of medications that are required to be stocked at all military […]
In a speech last week to the Center for Global Development, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed how a focus on women and girls will be a key part of the Obama administration’s new development strategy. Clinton stated that it is “time to elevate development as a central pillar of all that we do in […]
Proceedings are underway in the historic trial that will decide whether California’s Proposition 8, the November 2008 ballot initiative that overturned the right of same-sex marriage in the state, is constitutional. Republican appointee Judge Vaughn R. Walker, will decide whether the ban violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the US Constitution. The […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke Friday on the goals outlined at the 1995 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the conference. Clinton reviewed some of the progress that has been made since the Cairo conference but focused most of her speech (see video) on what must be […]
At least 33 Iranian women activists were arrested yesterday during a peaceful protest in Tehran. The women are members of a group called Mourning Mothers, which was formed after the widely publicized death of Neda Agha-Soltan last summer. Members of the group are mothers of protestors who have been killed, detained, or are missing. According […]
A Nevada judge ruled that a “personhood” amendment petition can not be circulated because it is too vague and violates a state law that limits the ballot measure questions to one subject. The measure in question would have extended due process rights to “everyone possessing a human genome.” According to the Associated Press, three plaintiffs […]
The New Jersey State Senate voted 20 to 14 against a bill that would have legalized same sex marriage in the state yesterday. The state Judiciary Committee voted 7 to 6 in favor of the bill this past December. Marriage equality activists vowed to continue the fight in New Jersey immediately after yesterday’s vote. Director […]
The Obama Administration recently added language to the federal jobs website that explicitly bans gender identity-based employment discrimination under the federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy. This is the first time that employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity has been explicitly banned by the federal government. A link to the policy is now […]
Statement of Katherine Spillar, Executive Vice President of Feminist Majority Foundation on Kansas Judge’s decision to allow evidence in support of a “voluntary manslaughter” verdict in the trial of Scott Roeder for murdering Dr. George Tiller Today’s perplexing decision is effectively back-door permission for admitted killer Scott Roeder to use a ‘justifiable homicide’ defense that […]
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi’s sister, a professor in dentistry, Noushin Ebadi, Mansoureh Shojaee, a founder of the One Million Signatures campaign for women’s equality in Iran, and Morteza Kazemian, a journalist, were arrested the evening of December 29 by Ministry of Intelligence agents. Ebadi, who is out of the country, released a statement […]
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Democratic nominee to fill the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, today won the endorsement of key members of the Kennedy family. Senator Kennedy’s widow Victoria Reggie Kennedy; his nephew, former congressman Joseph Kennedy II; and his great nephew Joseph Kennedy III announced their endorsements of Coakley at […]
EMILY’s List founder and president Ellen Malcolm announced yesterday that she will step down as the president of the organization. The Board of Directors has named Stephanie Schriock, a former Senate Chief of Staff, to be its new leader. Malcolm will continue her involvement as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors. Schriock began her political […]
The trial of Scott Roeder, who has confessed to allegedly murdering George Tiller, MD, in May 2009, will begin on Monday. Final legal preparations are being made by both the prosecution and defense. Last week, the prosecution filed a motion to add 10 more witnesses to their current list of 220 witnesses. According to the […]
A new settlement was reached late last month in a Title IX case against Slippery Rock University that was originally filed in 2006 and settled in 2007. Plaintiffs in the original suit filed a motion in federal court to have the case reopened in June 2009 on the basis that the university had failed to […]
