In a study released last week, an increase of legal aid for victims of domestic violence over the past six years in southwest Virginia has led to a 35 percent decline of requested protective orders over the same period. The Southwest Legal Aid Society (SVLAS) now has four attorneys and three paralegals working on their […]
A Wichita jury ruled Friday that George Tiller, MD is not guilty of illegal abortion on all 19 criminal charges brought against him. Dr. Tiller faced 19 misdemeanor charges for allegedly violating a state law requiring an “independent” second physician’s concurring opinion before performing later term abortions. Dr. George Tiller, medical director of the Women’s […]
A Spanish feminist coalition, the State Network of Feminist Organizations, launched a campaign Friday to support the liberalization of abortion laws by Spains government. According to The Telegraph, reform of abortion laws is part of the social change program undertaken by Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose Socialist government has removed religion from […]
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke on the integral role women’s rights have in foreign policy and security Friday at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) national conference. In her remarks, Clinton said “A society that denies and demeans women’s rights and roles is a society that is more likely to engage in […]
Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) announced legislation that aims to promote early detection and education of breast cancer this week after disclosing that she privately battled breast cancer last year. According to a press release from Wasserman Schultz’s office, the Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act (EARLY Act) “directs the Centers for Disease Control […]
The New Hampshire state House approved a bill that would allow same-sex marriage in the state yesterday. The measure passed 186 to 179. New Hampshire became the seventh state to legalize civil unions in 2007. The measure now moves to the New Hampshire state Senate, where Democrats have a 14 to 9 majority. A similar […]
Doctor George Tiller testified in his own defense yesterday in his criminal trial. Dr. Tiller faces 19 misdemeanor charges for allegedly violating a state law requiring an “independent” second physician’s concurring opinion before performing later term abortions. Tiller is one of the few late-term abortion providers in the US that serves women with troubled pregnancies […]
A settlement agreement was reached to end illegal and discriminatory sex segregation in the Mobile, Alabama School District this week. According to the settlement agreement “Hankins Middle School will immediately and for the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year cease any segregation by sex, or segregation by academic teams that has the effect of segregating […]
The Colorado state legislature passed a birth control protection bill this week in a primarily party-line vote. The bill (see PDF), entitled the Birth Control Protection Act, legally defines ‘contraceptive’ and ‘contraception’ as “a medically acceptable drug, device, or procedure used to prevent pregnancy,” but does not apply to mifepristone. Governor Bill Ritter is expected […]
Voters in Gainesville, Florida voted 58 to 42 percent to maintain local anti-discrimination laws that protect individuals on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The measure would have removed local discrimination protection for all groups that are not included in the Florida Civil Rights Act, which currently protects individuals from discrimination on the […]
Edward Korman, a New York District Court Judge ruled yesterday that the FDA must reconsider its 2006 ruling that allowed emergency contraception (EC), also known as Plan B, to be sold without a prescription to women 18 and older. The ruling (see PDF) also specifically orders Barr Pharmaceuticals, which distributes Plan B, to make EC […]
The Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 yesterday in favor of a bill that would allow same-sex marriage in the state. The bill’s passage follows unanimous approval of the bill by the state Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Vermont currently allows civil unions, but the current bill would expand benefits offered to same-sex couples. The […]
Two petitions are now in circulation in California that seek to repeal the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. One potential ballot measure would replace the term ‘marriage’ with ‘domestic partnership’ under California law, thereby voiding Proposition 8. The second would void Proposition 8 by striking the article of the state constitution that states “Only marriage […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Young Women’s Leadership Conference this past weekend was a resounding success! Over 500 attendees came from across the country to discuss some of today’s most pressing issues, including reproductive rights, crisis pregnancy centers, the environment, LGBTQ rights, violence against women, communities of color, the Convention to Eliminate all Forms of […]
The Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill Friday that would allow same-sex marriage in the state. This vote came after a week of hearings on the issue. Vermont currently allows civil unions, but the current bill would expand benefits offered to same-sex couples. The bill will now move to the state Senate. Even […]
Archibishop Rino Fisichella, a Vatician bioethics official, wrote last week against the Vatican’s support of excommunicating the Brazilian doctors who were involved with securing an abortion for a 9-year-old girl who became pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. The Catholic Church in Brazil had planned to excommunicate all of the doctors involved […]
Elena Kagan was confirmed as Solicitor General yesterday and, once sworn in, will be the first woman to hold the post. She was confirmed in a 61 to 31 Senate vote. Prior to her nomination, Kagan was the Dean of Harvard Law School and was the first woman to hold that position. Prior to her […]
A hearing was held in the Texas state Senate on a bill that would require women who are seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound and the option to view the images prior to the procedure. The bill originally introduced would have also required the doctor to describe the fetal development, show the patient ultrasound […]
The Department of Defense released a report this week that shows an 8 percent increase of sexual assault involving service members from fiscal year 2007. Sixty-three percent of the 2,908 reported sexual assaults were rape or aggravated assault. The report (see PDF), also showed that 8 percent more cases were referred to trial from 2007. […]
State-level legislation was reintroduced in the Florida legislature Wednesday that would require women who are seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound and the option to view the images prior to the procedure. The bill would also require doctors to share information with the patient on fetal development. A similar bill was defeated last year […]
