New York Governor David Paterson signed the Protections for Reproductive Health Care Act last week that will help protect those who work in reproductive health. The new law (see PDF) increases penalties for criminal activities that target healthcare providers and also expands protections to include volunteers for the first time as well as paid employees […]
The Somali militant group Al-Shabaab reportedly forced the closure of three grassroots women’s organizations Monday in the Kenyan town of Balad Hawa to prevent women from going to work. Their leader stated that they also plan to force five additional unspecified non-governmental organizations, according to Reuters. Chairman of Balad Hawa, Maalim Daaud Mohmed, told Reuters […]
A federal district judge ruled yesterday that a lawsuit challenging patents on genes related to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer can move forward in court. The lawsuit, filed in May by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, is the first to challenge gene […]
President Obama announced the end of a twenty-two year HIV travel ban on visitors and immigrants entering the United States at a ceremony Friday and also reauthorized the Ryan White CARE Act. The HIV travel ban, originally enacted in 1987, prohibits foreign nationals with HIV from obtaining visas for travel to the US and prevents […]
The United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) two conferences in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, brought together more than 150 health ministers last week who called for a renewed commitment to lower maternal mortality by 2015. The UN aims to reduce three quarters of maternal mortality rates by 2015 based on 1990 figures, reported Radio Free […]
Items planned to be sold in an online auction to support the legal defense of Scott Roeder, the alleged murderer of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, MD, were posted briefly on eBay last night. Items posted include an autographed protest bullhorn, drawings by another inmate and signed by Scott Roeder, and a prison cookbook written […]
Note: this is the second in a series about the climate at abortion clinics in the aftermath of the murder of Dr. George Tiller “How do you prefer to die, by knife or by bullet?” This was a question posed to a clinic escort by a protestor at the Center on the day of Tiller’s […]
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28), chair of the House Rules Committee, announced that two of her provisions regarding domestic violence are included in the final version of the healthcare reform bill, HR 3962. One provision prevents insurance companies from classifying domestic violence as a “pre-existing condition,” and would go into effect on January 10, 2010. The […]
Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia are allegedly rounding up and beating women who are not wearing veils or socks. In total, over 130 people have been detained in the past three days for violating Al-Shabaab’s interpretation of sharia law, according to CNN. “Just today, Al-Shabaab dispatched men with whips to the streets around Bakara market and […]
As Moscow hosts the Third Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference (EECAAC), AIDS professionals have focused on the Russian Government’s failure to fund and promote effective HIV/AIDS prevention programs. AIDS experts urged the Russian Government Wednesday to end its HIV abstinence-based prevention programs. In the past eight years, HIV infections have doubled in Russia […]
President Barack Obama signed the historic Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act yesterday. The bill extends the definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks motivated by sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability and empowers federal authorities to help local law enforcement investigate hate crimes. In his remarks yesterday, President […]
Jehmu Green, a political consultant and commentator, was named the new president of the Women’s Media Center (WMC) yesterday. Founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan, the WMC promotes the visibility of women in media. According to the Women’s Media Center, Greene has worked on over 20 political campaigns, served as […]
Swiss investment company Naissance Capital has announced it will launch a fund to invest in firms with women board members and to encourage other firms to increase gender diversity among company leadership. Starting in January, the Women’s Leadership Fund will invest in firms with at least 20 percent more women in senior management positions than […]
The German Lutheran Church elected Margot Kaessmann to be Chairperson, the church’s highest position, Wednesday. Kaessmann will be the first woman and the youngest person in history to hold this position. Kaessman, who has served as a bishop in Hanover for more than ten years, was elected with 132 out of 142 votes, reported Deutsche […]
Anyone who’s watched the long-running NBC series Law and Order—the original, not the spinoffs—knows that its stories are often “ripped from the headlines.” So it wasn’t all that surprising that the October 23 episode, entitled “Dignity,” was obviously inspired by the murder this past spring of Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller in his church.
Ebay announced yesterday that it will block an online auction planned to support the legal defense of Scott Roeder, the alleged murderer of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, MD. According to the Los Angeles Times, eBay said, “Based on the details we know about the anticipated listings, we believe these would violate our policy regarding […]
A new ballot measure campaign in Colorado seeks to legally define eggs, not just embryos, as people. The measure (see PDF) seeks to amend the state constitution so that “the term ‘person’ shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being,” According to the Colorado Independent, this […]
Iceland has the highest gender equality index of 134 countries analyzed, according to a study released by the World Economic Forum Tuesday. The US ranked 31st on the list and fell four places this year. The US ranking fell due to overall labor force participation of women falling from 70 percent to 69 percent and […]
Michigan congressmen Jim Slezak (D-50) and Paul Scott (R-51) have introduced a “personhood amendment” that could virtually outlaw abortion in the state if approved by voters. If passed, the proposed state constitutional amendment would extend due process rights and apply to all human beings, irrespective of age, race, gender, health, function, condition or dependency, including […]
The House passed a Coast Guard Reauthorization Act Friday that requires annual reporting of the number of sexual assaults on and by members of the Coast Guard and establishes requirements for owners of cruise ships. The commandant of the Coast Guard will submit the report, which will also detail all disciplinary actions taken in each […]
