Last week’s USAID decision regarding Marie Stopes International (MSI), one of the world’s leading family planning organizations, is drawing criticism from prominent international organizations. The USAID decision instructs several African nations to halt US funded contraception supplies to MSI. According to a , Population Action International and the European NGOs for Sexual and Reproductive Health […]
Several conservative Utah state lawmakers announced plans this week to sponsor anti-choice legislation in the 2009 legislative session. Among other provisions, the new series of bills would ban abortion except in cases of incest, rape, or endangerment of maternal health, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. State Representative Stephen Sandstrom, a primary supporter of the […]
A bill supporting funding for research to examine the environmental causes of breast cancer was recently passed in both chambers of Congress. The bill (see PDF) was sent to President Bush for approval this week. Another bill (see PDF) that addresses hospital stays for breast cancer patients passed the House last week. This legislation would […]
Paul Newman’s death has been felt throughout the feminist community. He and his partner, Joanne Woodward, have supported organizations like the National Organization for Women and Ms magazine since the 1970s. Ellie Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, remembers Paul Newman as “a modest man who made major contributions to many causes–not the least […]
In a South Dakota Supreme Court case heard this week a lawyer for the Secretary of State argued that the name of a 2006 donor to an anti-choice organization should be made public. The anonymous contributor gave a total of $750,000 to Promising Future Inc., an anti-choice organization founded by State Representative Roger Hunt to […]
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) gave instructions to its staff in several African nations yesterday to no longer provide US funded contraception supplies to Marie Stopes International (MSI). MSI is one of the largest family planning organizations in the world. According to the Africa Science News Service, Assistant Administrator for Global Health […]
Unequal treatment of athletic coaches under Title IX is becoming a frequent basis for lawsuits across the country. A new Title IX lawsuit was filed this week in Texas as two California schools settled their own gender discrimination cases. A former Texas Southern University (TSU) women’s basketball coach filed a gender discrimination lawsuit Monday. According […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit yesterday against a San Francisco-based Harley Davidson dealership alleging gender discrimination against a former employee. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dudley Perkins Company hired Bowen Dean as an entry level lot technician after she had completed training as a mechanic. After being hired in 2005, […]
A new Federal Immigration Authorities mandate requires immigrant women ages 11 to 26 seeking permanent residence to be vaccinated against the Human Papillomavirus. Women’s and immigrant rights are arguing that the requirement which is gender-specific and costly, is discriminatory. Ana Correa, Executive Director of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, said that the vaccine’s cost “adds […]
The Department of Justice granted over $114 million yesterday as part of its efforts to address and prevent violence against women across the country. The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women released the funds to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories through its STOP (Service, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) Violence […]
The Senate recently rejected Friday’s economic stimulus package that included a provision that would have addressed birth control pricing. The Bush administration reportedly objected to the bill because, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families, the language “would reverse a provision in the 2006 Deficit Reduction Act,” enacted in January 2007, that eliminated […]
A new Field Poll (see PDF)released last Friday shows that a narrow majority of California voters favor the state’s latest parental notification initiative. According to the poll’s findings, 49 percent of likely voters are planning to support the ballot initiative, known as Proposition 4, while 41 percent plan to oppose it. Proposition 4, if passed, […]
Two Taliban gunmen shot and killed Malalai Kakar, the head of Kandahar city’s department of crimes against women, as she left for work on Sunday, according to BBC News. Reported by Agence France-Presse, Kakar, a mother of six, led a team of 10 other female police officers investigating crimes against women. Her 18-year old was […]
The 30-day public commenting period on draft regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would threaten women’s access to contraception and health care ended yesterday. Thirteen state attorneys generals, at least six medical groups, and many others have submitted letters urging the withdrawal of the regulations (see PDF), which were modified […]
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing this week on the Domestic Partnerships Benefits and Obligations Act. The Act (see, PDF) would extend federal health and retirement benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers if enacted. Howard Weizmann, Deputy Director of the U.S Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told the committee that […]
World leaders met this week and pledged $16 billion to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The goals seek to cut extreme poverty in half and were adopted unanimously by UN member states in 2000. One focus of the new monetary commitments is on protecting and improving health conditions for women globally. UN […]
Louisiana State Representative John LaBruzzo is considering proposing a plan that would pay poor women $1,000 to be sterilized. He has said the program would be voluntary, could involve sterilization of both women and men, could encourage other forms of birth control, and could include tax incentives that would encourage people in higher socio-economic classes […]
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute indicates that national abortion rates are at an all time low since 1974, but that demographics of those seeking the procedure have changed significantly. The report (see PDF) analyzes 30 years of data since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision and shows abortion rates have declined […]
The 30-day public commenting period on draft regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would threaten women’s access to contraception and health care ended yesterday. Thirteen state attorneys generals, at least six medical groups, and many others have submitted letters urging the withdrawal of the regulations (see PDF), which were modified […]
Yesterday Nigerian feminist writer Chimamanda Adichie was awarded the prestigious MacArthur fellowship, along with 24 other fellows. The fellowships are popularly known as “genius grants” and award fellows $100,000 a year for five years. MacArthur foundation president Jonathan F. Fanton described this year’s winners as “people working on the very edge of discovery and people […]
