The Pittsburgh Public School District approved a comprehensive sex education program in an 8 to 1 vote last night. The decision expands Pittsburgh public school’s current abstinence-only program to include contraception and alternative lifestyles. The new comprehensive program was proposed as a solution to the high birth rate of Pittsburgh teens, which make up 14% […]
The US Supreme Court ruled in a 7 to 2 decision yesterday that those convicted of misdemeanors related to domestic violence can not legally possess firearms. The ruling reverses an appeals court decision that would have allowed abusers to possess guns if they were charged under statutes without a domestic violence element, according to CNN. […]
The Guttmacher Institute released a report today entitled “Leveraging the Potential of Medicaid and Title X in an Evolving Health Care System” that could bolster support for expansion of federal funding for family planning services. The report, (see PDF) found that currently 1.94 million unplanned pregnancies are prevented each year due to publicly funded family […]
Democratic Governor Mike Beebe signed a bill on Friday that would ban so-called partial birth abortions in Arkansas. The bill passed in the state Senate last week in a 30 to 3 vote and passed in the Arkansas state House of Representatives in an 84 to 6 vote after no debate. The legislation has an […]
Just moments ago, the US Senate confirmed President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Labor. California Representative Hilda Solis was confirmed on a vote of 80 to 17. Republicans made up the total of the 17 votes against confirmation. Solis is a tireless fighter for women’s rights, minority rights, and worker’s rights. In the House, Solis […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at Ewha Women’s University in South Korea last week. In her speech, Clinton addressed a number of women’s rights issues and also described her experiences on her first international trip as Secretary of State. Among other related remarks, Clinton said “people who think hard about our future come to […]
A Spanish parliamentary committee approved a report on reform of Spain’s restrictive abortion laws last week that recommends the legalization of first trimester abortions. Currently, abortion is legal in Spain only in cases of rape, severe fetal abnormalities, or when the mother’s mental or physical health is at risk, according to Agence France Presse. The […]
A bill that would ban so-called partial birth abortions in Arkansas passed in the state Senate yesterday in a 30 to 3 vote. The same bill passed last week in the Arkansas state House of Representatives in an 84 to 6 vote after no debate. According to the New York Times, Democratic Governor Mike Beebe […]
The North Dakota state Senate approved a bill yesterday that would expand the state’s Human Rights Act to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in a 27 to 19 vote. The state Senate Judiciary Committee had voted 6 to 0 in favor of passing the bill earlier this week, according to the North Dakota […]
A peace deal has been struck between local officials and Taliban militants in a northern part of Pakistan known as the Swat Valley that will allow the Taliban to implement Shariah law in the region if their armed campaign ends. According to the Telegraph, the region has a history of Shariah (Islamic) law, but many […]
A campaign was launched in South Africa today by the National Gender Machinery that aims to create equal representation of women in political and decision-making positions in both the public and private sectors. The South African government will use some affirmative action measures to ensure progress toward gender parity. Minister in the Presidency Dr. Manto […]
The New Mexico state Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6 to 5 yesterday to move a domestic partnership bill to a floor vote in the state Senate. The bill would allow same-sex couples access to domestic partnerships with the legal rights and benefits of marriage under state law. According to the Associated Press, the bill was […]
Legislation passed late last week in the Mississippi state House that would allow the state’s Departments of Education and Health to test a comprehensive sexual education pilot program in two school districts. The bill is, in part, a reaction to a recently released Center for Disease Control report that shows that Mississippi has one of […]
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has published findings showing that sexual exploitation and forced labor are the most common forms of human trafficking in the world. The report (see PDF), entitled the “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons,” found that sexual exploitation makes up 79 percent of human trafficking cases, while forced […]
The North Dakota state House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that defines a person as beginning at the moment of fertilization and would require doctors to tell women seeking an abortion that the procedure kills a human being. The bill, which passed in the state House 61 to 31, now moves to the North […]
The Arkansas House of Representatives passed a bill late last week that would ban so-called partial birth abortions in an 84 to 6 vote after no debate. The legislation has an exception to save the life of the mother, but does not have a health exception, according to the Associated Press. Doctors could face felony […]
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia named Norah Al-Fayez to be the new Deputy Minister for Women’s Education and replaced a number of high-ranking government officials last week. Al-Fayez is the first woman to be named to a ministerial post in the country. Advocate Wajeha al-Huwaider told CNN that “I think it’s going to be the […]
Florida Atlantic University officials have proposed a suspension of their Women, Gender and Sexuality department and their master’s degree program in women’s studies for fiscal reasons. The Women’s Studies Center and the M.A. program use a combined .00025 percent of the university’s total education budget, according to an email sent out by FAU’s Women’s Studies […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and attorney generals from 27 states are forcing Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals to correct misleading advertisements that overstated the potential medical benefits of the birth control pill Yaz. A settlement with the FDA and the states requires Bayer to run a $20 million ad campaign with corrected information about Yaz, […]
President-elect Barack Obama’s Labor Secretary nominee Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA) may be confirmed as early as today. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee recommended that she be confirmed by a voice vote this week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Solis’ confirmation was held up first by a lone Republican Senator’s hold and […]
