Pro-choice politicians in Britain are pushing for changes to the current Abortion Rights Act that would reduce restrictions on abortion. In Britain, abortion is legal until the 24 week of pregnancy, but two doctors are always required to approve the woman’s choice. Lord David Steel introduced the act in 1968 and is now backing the […]
A new study has linked high doses of hormone replacement therapy to increased risk for stroke. The study, which appeared in the April 28th edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine, was conducted by Francine Grodstein and colleagues at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as Harvard Medical School. Researchers used data from 121,700 […]
The Ministry of Defense in India is considering proposals to give permanent commissions to women officers in non-combat roles. The Indo-Asian News Service reports that in the armed forces in India, women are only eligible for permanent commissions in the medical, nursing, and dental services. Women are allowed to serve 14 years in uniform, but, […]
South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson certified last week that a petition for an abortion ban ballot initiative has enough signatures to be placed on the statewide November ballot. Anti-abortion groups filed the signatures earlier this month. Nelson’s office has not finished counting all the signatures, but he said “they have enough, a sufficient […]
The Missouri Foundation of Health has issued an $11 million grant to provide the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil to 30,000 women and girls not covered by insurance or Missouri’s free Vaccines For Children program. Women and girls ages 9-26 can receive the vaccine free of charge at any one of 139 health centers and […]
Afghan girls make up only 35% of students in Afghanistan, and despite an overall increase in students, the percentage of girls enrolled is not increasing. Aid agencies like CARE International last week attributed the gender disparity in Afghan schools to a lack of female teachers, the number of Afghan girls forced into early marriages and […]
Feminist candidates Jill Long Thompson of Indiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina are gearing up for the primaries on May 6. Both women currently have slight leads in the polls. Long Thompson, a former US House Representative for Indiana, is running for governor. She intends to improve education by establishing full-day kindergarten and reinvesting […]
Iowa Governor Chet Culver signed a bill into law last week requiring state-regulated insurance companies to cover the costs of human papillomavirus vaccines. HPV is linked to many kinds of cervical cancer. HPV vaccines like Gardasil protect against about 70 percent of the HPV strains that are linked to cervical cancer. According to a spokesperson […]
Hundreds of Chileans announced that they will leave the Catholic Church on April 29, in protest of the Vatican involvement with a court’s anti-contraception ruling. Chile’s Constitutional Court outlawed President Michelle Bachelet’s free emergency contraception distribution program on April 18. The court ruled that free distribution of emergency contraception was unconstitutional. According to Women’s eNews […]
The Senate Republican leadership orchestrated a filibuster of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act last night, preventing this critical bill from going to the floor of the senate for an up-or-down vote. The bill would have corrected the recent Supreme Court decision that guts the ability of women workers to sue for wage discrimination. All […]
Life expectancy for many women in the US declined significantly between 1983 and 1999. PLoS Medicine, a peer-reviewed, open access journal published by the Public Library of Science, released a study on Tuesday that documents a decrease in women’s life expectancy in some of counties within the US. According to the team at Harvard School […]
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on Wednesday to assess the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs in the US. The Washington Times reports that for years, researchers have urged Congress to get rid of abstinence-only programs because studies have shown that they are ineffective and potentially harmful to teens. Senator Sam […]
Women voters in Pennsylvania turned out in huge numbers for Senator Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. 59% of Democratic voters overall were women, only 41% were men. 57% of women voted for Senator Clinton, while only 48% of men did, resulting in a decisive nine-point gender gap, according to CNN exit polls. Race was also a […]
Michigan Democrats in the House and Senate announced a new legislation package Monday that they say will reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, abortions, and STDs by making contraceptives and comprehensive sex education more widely available. Sex education in Michigan currently varies from one school district to another. The legislation would require comprehensive sex education […]
High birthrates help keep Filipino families in poverty, the Washington Post reports. The government of the Philippines only supports so-called”natural family planning” methods, rejecting more modern methods of birth control because of the country”s strong ties to the Catholic Church. The Washington Post reports that the national government prohibits the use of federal funds to […]
Today is the twelfth annual Equal Pay Day. Women’s groups, including the Feminist Majority, the National Organization for Women, National Women’s Law Center, the National Partnership for Women and Families, and the American Association of University Women are mobilizing members in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which the Senate is expected to […]
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius vetoed an anti-abortion bill on Monday. The measure would have imposed more restrictions on abortion providers, and would have allowed family members of patients to sue if they think a doctor had performed or was about to perform an illegal late-term abortion. The bill would have also endangered patient privacy, allowing […]
Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 on Sunday, making her the first woman in history to win an IndyCar race. In 2005, Patrick also made history by being the first woman to place fourth in the Indy 500 race. When asked by AFP if she thought there were disadvantages for her racing as a […]
The Oklahoma Legislature overrode the governor’s veto of an omnibus anti-abortion bill on Thursday. The so-called Freedom of Conscience Act (see Word Document) combines several anti-abortion measures including a requirement that all women must have an ultrasound prior to obtaining an abortion, according to the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report. Governor Brad Henry told the […]
Last week the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation giving judges the power to order GPS tracking for violators of protection orders. Under this bill, victims of domestic violence and stalking could be warned as soon as the perpetrator gets too close to or enters a restricted zone near the victim’s home or place […]
