Facing 19 misdemeanor charges for consulting a doctor with whom he allegedly has legal and financial ties, Doctor George Tiller reported for processing on Friday while his attorneys submitted not guilty pleas to all counts on his behalf. Based in Wichita, Kansas, Dr. Tiller is one of the few providers of later term abortions in […]
Leading women members of Congress spoke about the politics of women’s health yesterday at an event on Capitol Hill organized by the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms Magazine. Representatives Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) addressed a full room during the program, titled From Campus to Congress: the Politics of Women’s Health. The event […]
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan drew national attention to the impeachment movement this week when she and a group of protestors were arrested on Capitol Hill and Sheehan announced her intention to run for Congress on an independent ticket. After announcing that she was stepping down from the anti-war movement in May, Sheehan launched a two-week, […]
In an effort to stay relevant with the needs and concerns of young women and girls, the British Girl Guides — the UK’s equivalent to the Girl Scouts — have added safe sex to their list of important skills. The organization polled 1,000 members aged 7-25 in order to update their “guide to living for […]
After a Montgomery County judge in Maryland dropped nine counts of rape, sex abuse, and child abuse against a man because the court was unable to find a translator, prosecutors have announced that they will seek an appeal. Mahamu Kanneh, a Liberian immigrant, was accused of raping and repeatedly molesting a 7-year-old girl and was […]
Former employees who worked under David Palmer at the Department of Justice have sent a letter to ranking senators, asking that they oppose President Bush’s recent re-nomination of Palmer to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, McClatchy Newspapers reports. Among the authors of the letter were three ex-deputy chiefs who worked under Palmer. The […]
The House Judiciary Committee voted yesterday to send contempt of Congress citations to the House floor for White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, both of whom failed to appear before Congress to testify about the firings of several US attorneys. The 22-17 vote was along strict party […]
A former University of California, Berkeley athletic director and swim coach will be rehired with back pay after settling a 2004 lawsuit in which she alleged that she was improperly dismissed in retaliation for accusing the university of sex discrimination. Karen Humphreys, a 1972 Olympic gold medalist for swimming, served as swim coach from 1978 […]
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has introduced the Fair Pay Restoration Act (S 1843), which is companion legislation to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (HR 2834) in the House. Both bills would correct the recent Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. In its decision, the Supreme Court greatly limited the […]
A new law authorizing domestic partnerships for same-sex couples went into effect on Monday in Washington State. Couples were in line long before the registration building opened in Olympia at 8 am, and throughout the day, over 155 couples celebrated their newly recognized partnerships. Many of the couples registering on Monday acknowledged that, although domestic […]
The lowest paid workers in the US will see an increase in their wages today for the first time in a decade. The US minimum hourly wage raise of 70 cents went into effect today, bringing it to $5.85 per hour. The Fair Minimum Wage Act, signed by President Bush in late May, mandates that […]
The European Union (EU) has made almost no progress in closing the wage gap between women and men in the last decade, according to a recent report by the European Commission. Women in EU member states earn an average of 15 percent less than men, even though more women attend university and perform better in […]
Anti-abortion protestors left Birmingham yesterday after a week-long protest targeting the city’s two women’s health centers. The pro-choice community, led by Alabama NOW and the Alabama Reproductive Freedom Coalition, countered the message of Operation Save America by demonstrating strong support for reproductive rights, providing supportive messages outside clinics, and countering the anti-abortion’s public protests. A […]
After allegations that Moroccan peacekeepers have committed sexual assault in Cote d’Ivoire, the UN has announced plans to repatriate the entire contingent during its investigation. According to UN spokeswoman Margherita Amodeo, only one unit was allegedly involved, but due to the gravity of the charge, the UN has decided to suspend all the activities of […]
In a landslide election, India elected lawyer and politician Pratibha Patil to serve as the country’s first woman president. Patil defeated her opponent, India’s current vice president Bhairon Singh Skeawhat by a near two to one margin, despite recent controversy over her brother’s criminal past and allegations of financial irregularities. Women’s rights advocates expect that […]
After the Senate Finance Committee voted 17-4 yesterday to approve a bill that would not only renew the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP), but also increase its funding by $35 billion over the next five years, President Bush threatened to veto the measure. Currently, on a $5 billion annual budget, SCHIP provides health coverage […]
Eastern Michigan University President John Fallon, along with two other university officials, was fired after being accused of attempting to cover up the rape and murder of a student in an on-campus dormitory room. In December 2006, a police investigation concluded that the death of EMU student Laura Dickson was suspicious. Shortly thereafter, however, EMU […]
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) signed three bills last week that restrict women’s access to abortion. Two of the bills, HB 614 and SB 161, ban so-called “partial birth” abortions, making Louisiana the first state in the country to adopt its own laws after the US Supreme Court upheld a federal ban earlier this year. […]
In an effort to initiate a statewide plan for sexual assault prevention, the Minnesota Department of Health released a first-of-its-kind report illustrating the economic implications of sexual assault, placing the final figure at approximately $8 billion dollars in 2005. “This is a major public health and safety concern, not only because of the financial costs, […]
According to a new report released this month by the US Forum on Child and Family Statistics, the rate of high school students engaging in sexual behavior decreased before abstinence-only sex education became heavily funded and promoted in 2001. In 1991, 54.1 percent of high school students reported having sexual intercourse. By 1999, that number […]
