The Obama Administration formally moved Friday to rescind Bush-era regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that threaten women’s access to contraception and comprehensive health care. Publication of the official notice (see PDF) is followed by a 30 day commenting period. The regulations were released in their final version late in 2008. […]
A celebration of International Women’s Day took place in Liberia this weekend, with a number of the world’s key women leaders present. Among many others, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet were present, according to Radio Netherlands. Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean told the crowd that […]
The California state Supreme Court appears unlikely to overturn Proposition 8 after hearing oral arguments in the case to overturn the measure yesterday. The proposition, which passed 52 percent to 48 percent, overturned a May 2008 ruling of the state Supreme Court that legalized same sex marriage. Chief Justice Ronald George, who authored the decision […]
An amendment to the 2009 fiscal year omnibus spending bill currently under debate that would have removed funds designated for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) from the bill was defeated yesterday. The bill was rejected in a near party-line vote with the Republican Senators Snowe (ME), Specter (PA), and Collins (ME) voting against the […]
The Catholic Church in Brazil plans to excommunicate all of the doctors involved in securing an abortion for a 9-year-old girl who became pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. The Church also plans to excommunicate the girl’s mother, according to the BBC. Abortion is legal in Brazil only in cases of rape […]
California’s Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case that considers the constitutionality of the Proposition 8, which eliminated same sex marriage in the state in the 2008 elections. The proposition, which passed 52 percent to 48, overturned a May 2008 ruling of the state Supreme Court that legalized same sex marriage. The California […]
Two anti-choice bills passed yesterday in the Kansas state House and will now move to the state Senate. A bill that would increase the level of information clinics provide to women seeking abortions was approved in an 85 to 37 vote and a second bill that would change reporting requirements for late-term abortions was approved […]
Young girls who survived Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s are the people who will develop the nation in the future, according to Christiana Thorpe, the founding chair and former CEO of Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) in Sierra Leone. Thorpe, who spoke recently at Claremont McKenna College’s Leadership Conference, said men in […]
Senator David Vitter (R-LA) introduced an amendment to the Senate omnibus appropriations bill currently under debate that would drastically cut family planning funding under Title X. Title X provides federal funds to subsidize family planning services and preventive healthcare. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, “over the past 30 years, Title X […]
A deal has been struck between the provincial government and local officials and militants in a northern part of Pakistan known as the Swat Valley that will allow girls to return to school there. In December, regional Taliban leader Mullah Shah Doran announced an education ban on women and girls in the Swat Valley. The […]
Representative Ellen Tauscher proposed legislation Monday that would repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bans gay and lesbian individuals from openly serving in the military. The policy prohibits the military from inquiring about a service member’s sexual orientation, but also calls for the discharge of anyone who acknowledges being gay or who engages […]
Legislation was introduced in the Texas state legislature Monday that would require the state’s public schools to teach comprehensive sex education. The legislation, entitled the Texas Education Works Act, aims to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates and requires “complete, medically accurate and age-appropriate” information in the curriculum, according to the Dallas Morning […]
A bill that would have allowed same-sex couples access to domestic partnerships in New Mexico failed last week in the state Senate. According to the Sante Fe New Mexican, 10 Democrats and all of the body’s Republicans voted against the bill, which failed 17 to 25. The New Mexico state Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6 […]
A professor who filed a pay discrimination suit against the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) was awarded back pay and damages by a jury. According to the Monitor, her lawyer said that “Dr. Medrano prevailed on every issue” and that the jury found willful violation of the Equal Pay Act by UTPA. Medrano formerly served […]
The Obama Administration indicated today that they plan to rescind Bush-era regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that threaten women’s access to contraception and comprehensive health care. According to the Associated Press, official notice of the decision will be published next week, which will be followed by a 30 day commenting […]
Ni Putes Ni Soumises, a French women’s group working to combat violence against France’s large Muslim women immigrant population plans to open its first formal chapter in Morocco. The Moroccan government is not welcoming the group’s plans due to its feminist work and name, Ni Putes Ni Soumises, which translates to Neither Whores nor Submissive, […]
A motion by Dr. George Tiller’s lawyers to dismiss the criminal case against him was denied yesterday by Sedgwick County District Judge Clark Owens. This pre-trial motion sought to dismiss criminal charges against Dr. Tiller of Wichita, Kansas for allegedly violating a state law requiring an “independent” second physician’s concurring opinion before performing later term […]
The South Carolina state House passed a bill 83 to 23 yesterday that would require women to wait for 24 hours after viewing an ultrasound prior to having an abortion. Supporters have argued that such a monumental decision as having an abortion requires a waiting period while critics have cited the fact that a 24 […]
Two Iranian women were punished by flogging last week for their participation in May Day celebrations last year. The women, Sussan Razani and Shiva Kheirabadi, are two of four labor activists convicted and sentenced as a result of the celebration. Similar sentences were carried out last year in relation to workers who had celebrated May […]
Utah Republican state Senator Chris Buttars was removed from his membership and chairmanship of both the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee and the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee Friday after public controversy about anti-gay remarks Buttars made to a documentary filmmaker. The sanctions against Buttars came after state Senate Republicans caucused for two […]
