Reports of pregnancy discrimination to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are at an all time high. The EEOC received 5,587 charges of pregnancy-based discrimination in 2007, up 14 percent from 2006 which represents the largest increase in a single year. Elizabeth Grossman, an attorney for EEOC told the Wall Street Journal that employers […]
The Arizona State Legislature passed two anti-choice bills this week. Both bills will now go to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, who has vetoed similar legislation in the past, according to the Women’s Daily Health Policy Report. One bill, HB 2263, outlines methods for judges to use when assessing applications from minors to obtain an abortion […]
China’s Ministry of Health launched the second phase of a program last week that will give 200,000 Chinese women free screening for cervical cancer. The Prevention of Cervical Cancer (PCC) program will provide screening and treatment centers across the country, even in remote rural regions, reports the Xinhua News Agency. Kiani was still stoned to […]
The Colorado State Senate approved a bill on Tuesday that would prohibit anti-abortion extremists from camping out in front of private homes. The Associated Press reports that since last fall anti-abortion extremists have been protesting outside the private homes of construction executives and subcontractors who are building a Planned Parenthood clinic in Denver. Kiani was […]
A Wisconsin District Court of Appeals upheld the state Pharmacy Examining Board’s decision against a pharmacist who refused to refill a patient’s prescription for oral contraceptives or to provide a referral. According to the Daily Women’s Health Report, pharmacist Neil Noesen refused to refill a woman’s prescription for oral contraceptives for so-called moral reasons, which […]
The Italian Ministries of Health and Sports are launching a $1.5 million campaign to combat rising rates of anorexia and other eating disorders. According to Pretoria News, the campaign will target schools and the media, providing guidelines on discouraging unhealthily thin ideals. Kiani was still stoned to death on July 5, 2007. Ebrahimi’s death was […]
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic filed an addendum brief with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) this week in the landmark case of a domestic violence survivor. The case of Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales), whose three small girls were kidnapped and murdered by her […]
After spending eleven years in prison awaiting death by stoning because of committing adultery, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi was released on Monday March 17. Ebrahimi and her partner Ja’far Kiani were convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death in northwestern Iran. According to Amnesty International, the Stop Stoning Forever campaign in Iran publicized the […]
A new study by researchers at the University of Washington found that students who receive comprehensive sex education are half as likely to become teen parents as those who receive abstinence-only sex education. According to the Seattle Times, this study marks the first time researchers have compared comprehensive sex education and abstinence-only education in a […]
Anti-abortion extremist Roy McMillan admitted in court on Friday that he had violated a federal agreement to stay away from Mississippi’s only abortion clinic. McMillan signed a consent decree in 1995 after violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act ( see PDF). The Clarion Ledger reports that Dr. Joseph Booker, the physician […]
Cancer advocacy groups are urging Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, which requires insurance companies pay for hospital stays after mastectomies. The act was first introduced by House Representative Rosa DeLauro in 1996, and re-introduced in 2005. It would stop the practice of what are called ‘drive-through’ mastectomies. Though a hospital stay […]
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by AARP challenging an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission policy that allows employers to cut health insurance expenses for retired workers after they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare. The policy essentially allows employers to treat retirees differently based on age without violating anti-age discrimination laws, according to the Associated […]
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal today from a Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff to review a lower court’s ruling that protected Arizona inmates’ right to an abortion. The sheriff’s policy of prohibiting jail officials from transporting a prisoner for an abortion without a court order was challenged by an inmate in 2004. The Arizona Superior […]
Congressman Tom Reynolds (R-NY), former chair of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (RCCC) and a staunch opponent of reproductive rights, announced last week that he will not seek re-election in 2008. Reynolds is a five-term Representative, but held his seat in 2006 by a slim margin, reports the Washington Post. Kiani was still stoned to […]
Dr Fehmida Mirza made history this week as the first woman to be elected Speaker of Pakistan”s General Assembly. Dr. Mirza defeated her opponent, Sardar Israr Tareen of the previously ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, with a vote of 249-70. She is a member of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto”s Pakistan People”s Party (PPP). “Being […]
California’s Board of Education adopted standards that require sex education taught in public schools to be medically accurate. The standards, passed by the state Board of Education last week, cover the entire health curriculum, including drug education, exercise, and environmental health. The specific sections addressing sexual health education echo the requirements under the California Comprehensive […]
The US Senate passed an amendment to the FY 2009 Budget to increase funding for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs on March 13. Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware introduced the amendment that would increase funding to VAWA programs by $100 million. President Bush’s proposed FY 2009 budget would have cut funding to VAWA […]
New studies released last week from the Journal of Clinical Oncology report that certain drugs can reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. These drugs, called aromatose inhibitors, suppressed the production of estrogen. Many cancerous tumors are fueled by the production of estrogen. The Journal of Clinical Oncology published Paul E. Goss et al.’s study […]
The United Nations (UN) Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination called attention to the wide racial disparities that continue to exist in the US. The Committee concluded March 7 after finding the US lacking in its pursuit of the end of racial discrimination. The Committee’s report on the US criticized persistent racial profiling, the dismantling […]
A study supported by supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute found that a low-dose aspirin every other day lowers the risk of asthma among non-obese adult women by 10 percent. The study will appear in the online issue of Thorax, an international journal of respiratory medicine. The study was […]
