Friday is the final day of the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The conference is a global forum regarding the prevention and treatment of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Twenty-five thousand delegates from around the world assembled in Mexico City this week. In a press release (see PDF), Dr. Pedro Cahn, the conference international […]
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) signed a measure into law that allows authorities to track convicted domestic violence offenders via satellite using GPS technology. The new law allows judges to order that offenders wear a GPS device or be subject to GPS monitoring. Authorities will be alerted when abusers enter survivor-designated safe zones, typically areas […]
Senator John McCain campaigned at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota over the weekend. The rally is infamous for its Miss Buffalo Chip Beauty Pageant, a contest usually featuring scantily clad or topless women. Though Senator McCain discussed gas prices and veterans in his speech at the rally (see the CNN video of Senator […]
Iran’s state media announced Wednesday that Iran has suspended the use of stoning as a way to carry out the death penalty. According to AFP, Iran’s judiciary drafted legislation that would end stoning as a death penalty, the current Islamic punishment in Iran for adulterers. Amnesty International reports in their call to end stoning in […]
In California, the battle over the abortion-notification ballot initiative, Proposition 4, continues with a lawsuit over the language used in the measure. Activist groups including Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California filed a lawsuit with the Sacramento County Superior Court to strike out all references to “Sarah” and “Sarah’s Law” as well as other misleading language […]
A policy intended to fight child poverty and ensure child safety allows incarcerated Afghan women to live with their children while in prison. Currently, there are over 225 young children living in Afghan prisons. In prison, the children are provided with food and access to some education. “I was living in a tent, and I […]
An Indian Court rejected a couple’s petition on Monday for an abortion of a 25-week-old-fetus with a congenital heart problem. According to the Associated Press, Niketa and Haresh Mehta and their gynecologist, Dr. Nikhil Dattar, petitioned the court last month because they are concerned about the quality of life a child with congenital heart problems […]
Zohra Rasekh has been elected to the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She is the first woman to represent Afghanistan. Rasekh received 110 votes and will begin her four-year term on January 1, 2009. Rasekh and other members of CEDAW will develop strategies to improve anti-discrimination […]
Latin American and Caribbean leaders met Friday in Mexico at the 1st Meeting of Ministers of Education and Health to address HIV/AIDS. Attendees signed a historic declaration pledging to provide comprehensive sex education in Latin American and Caribbean curricula to combat HIV, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). In the Caribbean […]
The House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act Thursday with a 247 to 178 vote. The bill was sponsored by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and will strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by introducing non-retaliation requirements and increasing penalties on employers, among other provisions. Though the bill allows women to sue for punitive and […]
The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing on sexual assault in the military. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) both testified. Mother of slain Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, Mary Lauterbach, and an American Red Cross worker who was raped while serving on a […]
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report this week on abuse of domestic workers by diplomats. The report details how US efforts to address alleged abuse of domestic workers by foreign diplomats who have immunity could be strengthened. The report is the result of investigations by GAO that sought to “determine the […]
A proposed rule change to Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations would endanger a Minnesota law that requires doctors to offer rape victims emergency contraception. The federally proposed rule would expand the definition of abortion to falsely label several types of birth control including emergency contraception, the pill and IUDs as abortifacients, reports […]
The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) published a report Tuesday on abstinence-only-before-marriage program funds in Kentucky. The report reveals that Kentucky received over $3 million in federal funding last year, but that the state continues to have high rates of teen pregnancy and HIV prevalence among African Americans. Kentucky allocated […]
WomenCount denounced Ludacris’ new song, “Politics” for its attacks on political figures Senator Hillary Clinton, President George Bush, Senator John McCain, and Reverend Jesse Jackson. WomenCount decried the lyrics as “outrageous, offensive, and unacceptable.” Communication director Rosemary Camposano said, “This is about beginning the grinding and painful process of rooting out this kind of hate […]
Anti-affirmative action measures will be on the state-wide ballots in Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska this November. These measures call themselves civil rights initiatives but would effectively end affirmative action programs in these states. The deceptive wording borrows the language of civil rights and may trick millions of Americans primed to vote for any civil rights […]
The UN announced on Tuesday that the percentage of AIDS deaths worldwide has decreased 10%. However, the prevalence of new infections has remained the same at 2.7 million cases a year. The UN report attributed the decrease to increased prevention initiatives and condom usage. The Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund Purnima […]
Sedgwick County District judge, Clark Owens, found criminal allegations against George Tiller to be constitutional based on a 1998 state law. Dr. Tiller is one of the country’s only late term abortion providers. The law stipulates that a physician must seek a concurring opinion from another doctor in order to perform a post-viability abortion, that […]
Recent polling indicates that California’s Proposition 4 is gaining support among likely voters. If passed, the constitutional amendment would require parental notification and a 48-hour waiting period before allowing a minor to obtain an abortion. According to the Contra Costa Times, 48 percent of likely voters support the measure and 39 percent oppose it. The […]
The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals will review the constitutionality of a Virginia law banning late-term abortions this fall. The law was already deemed unconstitutional in a 2-1 panel decision in May, but several opponents to the ruling insisted on a re-hearing. Oral arguments are expected to begin in late October. The law was […]
