The Baltimore City Council passed legislation this week, entitled the Limited-Service Pregnancy Centers Disclaimer Bill, that will require crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to disclose that they do not provide information or referrals for certain services. According to NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, the bill “requires Limited Service Pregnancy Centers, also known as Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs), to […]
Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a press event Tuesday, October 6, on women and health insurance reform with Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky (IL), Donna Edwards (MD), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH), Gwen Moore (WI), and Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal. Pelosi passionately outlined what health insurance reform will address for women. Pelosi said “…women are charged nearly 50 […]
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that a former Arkansas inmate, Shawanna Nelson, who was shackled during labor has the right to sue the corrections officer present during her labor. The ruling stated “existing constitutional protections, as developed by the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts and evidenced in Arkansas Department of […]
The UN Security Council met Monday to discuss Security Council Resolution 1325 (“Women and Peace and Security”) as part of a greater dialogue on women and peacemaking. The Council urged Member States to increase physical security, socio-economic conditions, education, access to health services, and justice for female citizens. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the debate […]
Political demonstrations in Guinea have led to the circulation of cell phone snapshots depicting rape against Guinean women. Guinean human rights activist Souleymane Bah told Reuters, “I saw soldiers strip women naked, spread their legs and stamp on their privates with their boots.” Approximately 50,000 unarmed civilians assembled on September 28th to protest Captain Moussa […]
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a bar complaint against Senator David Vitter (R-LA) with the Louisiana Office of Disciplinary Counsel today. The complaint stems from Vitter’s alleged involvement with prostitutes in the infamous DC Madam scandal, at brothels in New Orleans, and with an individual prostitute who alleges the Senator is […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the United Nations Security Council yesterday in adopting a resolution condemning sexual violence in war zones. The US-drafted resolution, passed unanimously by the Council, calls on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a team of experts to address the issue, reports Voice of America News. Secretary Clinton, who currently […]
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute gives useful empirical backing for what most people already know: Bad economic times like the present significantly affect individual’s and couple’s reproductive decisions. (In fact, the only people who don’t seem to grasp this intuitively are rightwing Republicans
The Senate Finance Committee approved an amendment that would provide millions of dollars to fund abstinence-only programs on a 12 to 11 vote last night. The amendment, sponsored by Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT), would allocate $50 million per year for such programs through 2014, according to the Washington Independent. All 10 Republicans on the committee […]
Vice President Joe Biden hosted a gathering yesterday for women’s rights leaders yesterday to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. About 100 guests visited Biden’s residence at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, to celebrate achievements in addressing violence against women and to discuss new initiatives, reports the Associated […]
Sudanese women refugees living in eastern Chad face a constant threat of rape and other violence against women. According to an Amnesty International report released today, it is impossible to know the exact number of Sudanese women who have been raped and attacked outside refugee camps by bandits, military, or organized groups or who have […]
George Tiller, MD was honored posthumously by the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR) in Washington, DC, last weekend with the Medal of Honor for “outstanding individual contribution to sexual and reproductive health.” The Medal of Honor is one of the highest honors given by IPPF/WHR. Dr. Tiller, who was medical director of the […]
Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court dropped all charges against human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and 8 others yesterday, ruling that their rights had been violated while imprisoned. Mukoko, the National Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, an NGO that tracks human rights violations and violence under President Robert Mugabe, had been accused of terrorism and conspiring to […]
Top military officials are calling to lift the military’s ban on women serving on submarines. Admiral Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the top military officer in the US, said in congressional testimony on Friday that he believes the US should “broaden opportunities for women” and that “one policy [he] would […]
The Democratic Party of Japan plans to introduce a bill as early as next year that would allow women to keep their maiden names after marriage. According to The Youmiuri Shimbun, the bill would allow married couples to use separate surnames, amending the 1947 Civil Code. Under the proposed law, children would be able to […]
The Florida Secretary of State’s office approved ballot language this week for a so-called personhood initiative proposed by Personhood Florida and the American Life League. The ballot measure would amend the state constitution to say that “The word ‘person’ and ‘natural person’ apply to all human beings, irrespective of age, race, health, function, condition of […]
According to a study released this week by the Guttmacher Institute, 45 percent of working-class women want to have fewer children or delay pregnancy because of the economic recession. The study indicates that some women have implemented cost-cutting measures at the expense of necessary health services including gynecological exams and consistent contraceptive use. Eight percent […]
The anti-choice campaign 40 Days for Life began its series of nationwide protests yesterday, with demonstrations scheduled to take place in more than 200 cities in 45 states and 5 Canadian provinces. While investigating the anti-choice movement in anticipation of this campaign, RH Reality Check reporter Hunter Stewart found that some protestors are expanding their […]
The US House of Representatives held a hearing yesterday on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (enda). The Act will ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill exempts small businesses with fewer than 15 employees, the military and religious groups. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), who is sponsoring the […]
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley (R) is appealing a US District Court decision striking down two of three provisions of a 2005 state informed consent abortion law. In August US District Judge Karen Schreier upheld the law’s requirement that physicians tell women abortion “terminates the life of a whole, separate unique living human being.” […]
