President Obama announced yesterday his appointment of Regina Benjamin, MD to the position of surgeon general. The President commented that Dr. Benjamin, who has lost relatives to diabetes, high blood pressure, and blood cancer, has a deep understanding of the health needs facing the United States. “And if there’s anyone who understands the urgency of […]
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a single-pill version of the Plan B emergency contraceptive, which is currently available as a two-pill dose. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd announced yesterday (see PDF) that the new version, Plan B One-Step, will be available by the end of August. Emergency contraception (EC), also known as Plan […]
On Friday, the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor HHS) eliminated traditional sources of funding for abstinence-only programs by passing an appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010. The measure does not include funding for abstinence-only programs, but does provide $114 million for “a new teenage pregnancy prevention initiative,” […]
The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that pharmacists in Washington State must dispense Emergency Contraception (EC), also known as Plan B, even if they have personal religious objections to the medication. The ruling overturned a temporary injunction from the US District Court in Seattle that “prevented state officials from penalizing pharmacists […]
The US 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Massachusetts law on Friday, allowing a 35-foot safety buffer zone between protestors and abortion clinic entrances. The law, established in 2007, protects clinic patients and staff from harassment. Five anti-choice protesters originally filed the lawsuit on the grounds that the safety zones violate their right to […]
Afghanistan’s Justice Ministry yesterday released a revision of the controversial Shia law that legalized rape within marriage, among other provisions. The Associated Press reports that the new version omits original provisions that allowed men to demand sex from their wives and that required women to ask their husbands’ permission to leave their home. The law […]
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment to the foreign aid appropriations bill yesterday that would permanently ban the Global Gag Rule. The amendment, which passed 17-10 with one member voting present, stipulates that foreign NGOs must not be prevented from receiving US aid on the basis of providing abortion services to women. The Global […]
Three Irish women are challenging Ireland’s abortion ban in the European Court of Human Rights. Ireland has restrictive laws that prevent abortion in almost every circumstance except when a woman’s life is in jeopardy. The three women claim in their lawsuit, ABC v. Ireland, that their well-being and health was threatened by the strict ban. […]
Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the federal government yesterday, challenging the legality of the Defense of Marriage ACT (DOMA). Passed in 1996, DOMA defines marriage as between one man and one woman and denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The lawsuit, filed by state Attorney General Martha Coakley, claims that the law forces the state […]
Kai Eide, the United Nations Special Envoy to Afghanistan, urged Afghan leaders to fight violence against women at a meeting in Kabul where he announced a new UN report on the subject. The report, entitled “Silence is Violence” (see PDF), was written by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and the UN’s Assistance Mission […]
The number of homeless female veterans has doubled in the past decade, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), even though the overall number of homeless veterans has decreased. Current estimates indicate there are 6,500 homeless women veterans. Women veterans are now two to four times more likely than women civilians to be homeless, […]
The House Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment yesterday to the federal appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010 that would have enabled the continuance of a ban on using local funds to help low-income women in Washington, DC access abortion services. The Tiahrt-Davis Amendment failed on a 26 to 33 vote. Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey […]
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued new regulations Monday that ease restrictions on stem cell research. The new guidelines allow the use of embryonic stem cells that have been discarded from in-vitro fertilization procedures if researchers can prove their methods are ethical and scientifically worthy. The new guidelines also allow for study of existing […]
The District of Columbia officially began recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states this morning. Congress had a 30 day review period after the bill was signed by DC Mayor Adrian Fenty to reject the measure. The review period expired early this morning, reported the Washington City Paper. The Washington, DC City Council voted 12 […]
School officials in Lawrence County, Alabama, have agreed to end single-sex classes. The school district reached a settlement after being notified by the American Civil Liberties Union that its sex segregated programs were illegal. The ACLU and ACLU of Alabama learned of sex-segregation after sending an Open Records Act (ORA) request to the school board […]
A law will be passed banning female genital mutilation (FGM) in Uganda, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced Friday. In his announcement, Museveni referenced a resolution passed last year by the United Nations that declared FGM a violation of women’s rights. President Museveni said in his announcement, “The way God made it, there is no part […]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is again asking an Arizona court to stop Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio from preventing female inmates from accessing abortion services. A 2005 lawsuit struck down the Sheriff’s policy of prohibiting jail officials from transporting a prisoner for an abortion without a court order. However, Arpaio allegedly began requiring […]
The federal appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010 includes several items that would end funding bans affecting several different issues in Washington, DC. If passed in its current form, the bill would eliminate a prohibition on using DC-raised monies for abortion, would end a ban that prohibits the use of federal funds for registration of […]
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree last week that increased the penalty for honor killing to a minimum prison sentence of two years. The law previously limited the maximum sentence to one year. According to the BBC, activists believe about 200 women are the victims of honor killings every year, murdered by male family […]
The Department of Justice chose not to appeal a decision in which a US District Judge ruled that the Library of Congress violated the Civil Rights Act in the case of Diane Schroer, a transgender woman, whose job offer from the Library of Congress was rescinded when she announced she was transitioning. The deadline for […]
