President Bush’s newly released 2008 budget proposal allocates more money for faith-based abstinence-only education programs and no increases for family planning services. The war-focused proposal, which has already received criticism from both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), allocates $28 million more — for a total of […]
Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) on Friday issued an executive order that made Texas the first state to require girls entering the sixth grade to receive the HPV vaccine, beginning in September 2008. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gardasil, a vaccine that prevents several strands of the sexually transmitted disease human papillomavirus (HPV), […]
State legislatures in South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming are considering recently introduced measures that would affect state abortion policies. In South Dakota, where an extreme abortion ban was defeated by voters in the November 2006 elections and a similar ban was just introduced last week, the House Health Committee approved on a vote of nine […]
A Kuwaiti parliamentary panel has approved draft legislation that would expand women’s rights. Currently, women in Kuwait are allowed 40 days of paid leave per year, a number that will increase to 70 days a year if the new legislation passes in parliament and gains the authorization of the emir, according to AFP. Other components […]
An abortion ban has been introduced in the Mississippi State Senate. The Mississippi Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare approved Senate Bill 2795, which bans abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or the health of a pregnant woman. The Chairman of the Senate has one week to take action on the bill. In […]
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 passed the United States Senate yesterday on a vote of 94-3 after nine days of debate. The Senate bill and the House version that passed earlier this month, will raise the minimum wage from $5.15-an-hour to $7.25 by 2009. The Senate’s version of the bill, however, includes $8.3 […]
Molly Ivins, a celebrated feminist author and political columnist, died at her Texas home on Wednesday after fighting breast cancer. Ivins was well known for her up-beat criticism and commentary of “politics, Texas, and other bizarre happenings.” As a journalist, Ivins worked for the Texas Observer, where she served as co-editor from 1970 to 1976, […]
Three women’s rights activists and journalists were arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport en route to a journalism workshop in India and now face prosecution. Two of the three, Talat Taghinia and Mansoureh Shojai write for online journal Zanestan (which translates to “City of Women”), an Iranian web-based journal that advocates for women’s rights. The […]
Two full-scale trials on topical microbicides that were designed to prevent HIV infection during sexual intercourse have been stopped, due to safety reasons. Scientists and women’s rights advocates believe that microbicides, which can be manufactured in many forms, including gels, creams, suppositories, films, or a sponge, could enable women to have more control over their […]
An abortion ban, similar to the previous ban that was soundly rejected by voters in November 2006, will be introduced into the South Dakota House of Representatives today. Lawmakers had announced earlier this week that a new draft of the ban would be submitted soon. The first ban was extreme, allowing for abortion only in […]
A Florida college student was arrested over the weekend after reporting her rape to the police. The woman, who has requested to remain anonymous, was taken into custody when police officers found a warrant for her from 2003 that accused her of failing to pay restitution for theft, which was described as a “paperwork snafu” […]
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a decree on Monday that will resume a program to give free birth control, including emergency contraception (EC), to all women aged 14 and older. The program was halted in mid-January after Chile’s highest court found it unconstitutional because it was implemented by administrative decree, not by presidential decree or […]
More than 500 cosmetics and body care product manufacturers have signed “The Compact for Safe Cosmetics,” a pledge to eliminate toxic ingredients from their products. The Compact is a project of The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, an international coalition of public health, labor, environmental, consumer, and women’s groups. Signatories have three years to find safe […]
Father Robert Drinan, a Jesuit priest and lawyer who served in the US Congress for ten years died on Sunday at the age of 86. Father Drinan defied directives from Father Pedro Arrupe, then head of the Jesuit order, and ran for Congress in 1970 on an anti-war platform. He succeeded, representing Massachusetts’ third district […]
South Dakota legislators announced Monday that they will reintroduce a new version of their previous abortion ban that was rejected by voters in the November elections. A group of legislators that identify themselves as Legislators for Life say that this version of the ban will include exceptions for rape, incest, and to protect the life […]
The Senate just voted 87-10 for cloture for 30 hours of debate on Senator Baucus’ (D-MT) substitute amendment on the minimum wage bill, which does provide a package of tax breaks for small businesses. The overwhelming cloture vote is encouraging that a minimum wage bill will pass the Senate by the end of the week. […]
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has found that the percentage of women who get regular mammography screenings declined by almost two percent between 2000 and 2005. The decrease from 76.4 percent to 74.6 percent means that over one million women annually are no longer getting screened. The decline reverses a trend from the 1990s, […]
Peace activists gathered from across the country in Washington, DC on Saturday to protest the war in Iraq and the President’s new plan to send more American troops. Organizers estimate that hundreds of thousands of demonstrators came from at least 40 states to show their opposition to the war. The program featured speakers from diverse […]
A weekend fire, thought to be the result of an arson attack, burned down a community center operated by the League of Displaced Women (Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas) in Columbia. The organization works on behalf of thousands of women and children who were forced to leave their homes because of violence. The United Nations High […]
The Senate entered its sixth day of so-called debate on raising the minimum wage this morning. The Republican minority is delaying passage of the bill, which would increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15-an-hour to $7.25 by 2009, by presenting a series of amendments. All are being defeated by the Democrat majority, but Republican leadership […]
