France moved another step closer to electing its first woman president when Socialist candidate and self-declared feminist Segolene Royal became one of two final contenders in the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday. She will face off against conservative candidate Nicholas Sarkozy in the May 6 final election. Royal won 25 percent of […]
Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, who had just become the first African-American woman chair of the powerful House Administration Committee, died of colon cancer. Millender-McDonald, from Carson City, Long Beach, and South Los Angeles, California, was a staunch supporter of women’s rights who also served as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues from 2001-2002. As […]
Two Iranian women’s rights activists have been sentenced to jail for taking part in an “unauthorized” June 2006 rally for women’s rights. Fariba Davoudi Mohajer, a journalist, was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison (three of which have been suspended, according to The Scotsman). Sussan Tahmasebi, a board member for The Iranian Civil […]
Finland made history on Tuesday when 12 of its 20 cabinet positions went to women, making Finland the world’s first female-dominated government. Upon announcing the appointments, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said that he wanted his government to respect “gender equality,” reports the Associated Press. Reuters reports that although women now rule in numbers, the most […]
The US Postal Service has accepted a proposal from Time Warner to raise postage rates significantly for smaller publications while reducing rates for larger publishers like Hearst and Time Warner. A coalition of smaller, independent media, including Free Press, a national non-partisan organization working to reform media, and the Media Consortium, including Ms., magazine, Mother […]
A new study conducted in Kenya found that complications from unsafe, illegal abortions accounted for 43 percent of all gynecological emergency hospital admissions. The study, published in the East African Medical Journal, looked at 400 patients admitted to the Provincial General Hospital Kakamega in Kenya with reproductive health emergencies. Researchers from the University of Nairobi […]
Thousands of people gathered in Washington, DC on Monday for the Demand the Vote March on the US Capitol. The march, which was organized by DC Vote and the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, was part of a continued campaign to secure full voting representation in Congress for the District of Columbia. According to organizers, […]
Experts say that a healthcare crisis is imminent in the United Kingdom due to a growing number of doctors who are declining to provide abortion services, particularly to low-income women. The country’s National Health Service (NHS), which was created in 1948 to provide healthcare to all citizens who are in need of service regardless of […]
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold the federal Partial Birth Abortion Act, a ban on an abortion procedure that the Republican controlled Congress passed in 2003. This ban has no exception for the health of a pregnant woman. Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal issued a statement this morning, saying, “This ruling shows the […]
The National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights held a Senate briefing yesterday afternoon in anticipation of comprehensive immigration reform legislation that is expected to be introduced in the Senate by mid-May. The Coalition, whose founding members include the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Organization for Women, Legal Momentum, and the National Asian […]
Conservative groups have filed a federal suit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in an attempt to overturn approval of Plan B, the “morning-after pill,” for non-prescription sale to women 18 and older. The plaintiffs, who include Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council, say that the FDA approved non-prescription Plan B […]
World Bank Managing Director Juan Jose Daboub deleted all references to family planning last week from a loan program for Madagascar, an island nation off the southeastern coast of Africa. In the loan program’s original draft, the World Bank, which is responsible for providing loans and grants for development aid in order to reduce poverty, […]
A South Carolina State Senate subcommittee dropped a provision last Thursday on an abortion bill that would have required women to view an ultrasound image before having an abortion. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster warned lawmakers last week that forcing women to view an ultrasound against her will would be illegal. While some states […]
The Senate voted last Wednesday to pass legislation supporting stem cell research. In a 63-34 vote, the Senate passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which is expected to be vetoed by President Bush. The pressure is now on to secure the additional four votes to override the presidential veto. Two Senate Democrats, […]
A government-requested report released late last week shows that abstinence sex education programs failed to impact the sexual behaviors of participants. The report (PDF), which was contracted to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. by the US Department of Health and Human Services, documents a multi-year, experimentally based impact study of 2,057 youth, 60 percent of whom […]
Two companies have announced that they will pull advertisements from Don Imus’s morning show on MSNBC and CBS after the host made sexist and racist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team last week. Both Procter and Gamble Co. and Staples Inc. have decided to stop advertising with the show, following Imus’s controversial remarks calling […]
Anibal Cavasco Silva, president of Portugal, ratified a new law Tuesday legalizing abortion up until the 10th week of pregnancy. The legislation was the result of a referendum on Friday that overwhelmingly favored the legalization of abortion. Although Cavasco Silva consented to the new law, he stated that he believes that all women who are […]
The US Senate will begin debate on two bills related to stem cell research today. The first, known as the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, was already passed by the US House of Representatives during Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) first 100 hours as Speaker. This bill, which is similar to the bill that […]
Yesterday, MSNBC and CBS suspended the nationally syndicated ‘Imus in the Morning’ radio program for two weeks after host Don Imus made derogatory comments about members of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. Imus said that the players of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who made it all the way to the NCAA women’s championship game, […]
The North Dakota Senate voted last Thursday to change a bill that would have banned abortions if the Supreme Court were to change its position on abortion. Instead, a measure was proposed and approved that calls for a special session to convene if the Supreme Court does, in fact, overturn its previous ruling in Roe […]
