Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) used a procedural move yesterday to block the recently passed Teen Endangerment Act from being sent to a Congressional conference committee to reconcile the House and the Senate versions of the legislation. Sen. Durbin is concerned that Senate Republicans who were sent to serve on the conference committee would be likely […]
Ashraf Kolhari, a 37-year-old mother of four, has been sentenced to death by stoning for committing adultery in Iran. Kolhari was arrested five years ago and has been awaiting her sentence in prison. Recently, she received the decision that she would be executed by the end of July. Reportedly, Kolhari had an affair after her […]
A new memo released by a South Dakota State Medical Association (SDSMA) lawyer concludes that under the changes to the state’s homicide laws in 2005, abortion providers could be charged with murder should the recently passed abortion ban take effect. South Dakota’s homicide law was altered in 2005 to make the premeditated killing of “any […]
Feminist leaders successfully convinced California unions this week to take a stand against an anti-choice measure that will be on the California ballot this November. If passed, Proposition 85 would amend the California state constitution to prohibit abortions for young women under the age of 18 – unless a physician notifies her parent or guardian […]
Leading women members of Congress spoke about women’s leadership yesterday at an event on Capitol Hill organized by Feminist Majority Foundation interns. Senator Barbara Boxer, Congresswoman Hilda Solis, and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney addressed a full room during the Taking the Lead: From Campus to Congress event. The event also featured Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) president […]
The US Senate passed the Teen Endangerment Act late last night, a bill that would make it a federal crime for any person other than a parent or legal guardian to accompany a minor across state lines to have an abortion. The law, officially called the Child Custody Protection Act, would make it illegal for […]
After the Bush administration changed hiring procedures in 2002, less than half of the new hires to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division have a background in civil rights, according to an investigation by the Boston Globe. In 2002, then-attorney general John Ashcroft changed the rules for hiring for career jobs, allowing political appointees – […]
NATO’s commander in Afghanistan recently described the situation in the country as “close to anarchy,” saying Afghan and coalition forces are “running out of time”. Lt. Gen. David Richards, who will lead NATO as it takes control of the US-led coalition in southern Afghanistan at the end of the month, spoke at a conference in […]
Ms magazine launched a ground-breaking petition last week intended to change the public debate about abortion. The “Ms. Petition for Safe, Legal, and Accessible Abortion and Birth Control” calls on the millions of women who have had abortions to demand “a repeal of laws that restrict women’s reproductive freedom.” A similar petition was launched by […]
A task force of the American Bar Association (ABA) released a report yesterday highly critical of recent presidential ‘signing statements’. These statements have been used in the past to comment on legislation, but in more recent history, and especially under President George W. Bush, the statements have been used to indicate that the president reserves […]
On Saturday, anti-abortion protestors held their final event of an eight-day protest outside of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The protests, organized by Operation Save America (OSA), were an unsuccessful effort to shut down the last abortion clinic in Mississippi in an attempt to make Mississippi the first ‘abortion-free’ state in America. Pro-choice advocates from […]
Hundreds of feminists gathered in Albany, New York this past weekend to celebrate the National Organization for Women’s 40th anniversary. The summit was both tribute to NOW’s founders and past leaders and a conference to discuss current issues within the women’s movement, past successes, and the movement’s future. The summit included speeches from NOW president […]
A new law in Kenya has created stricter punishments for rapists and sexual predators, but has failed to criminalize marital rape and female genital mutilation. The bill, which President Mwai Kibaki approved on July 14, was the first legal recognition of many sex crimes, including gang rape, sexual harassment, and child trafficking. The legislation also […]
Last Sunday, a crowd of hundreds marched in the 107-degree heat of Lamont, a city in Central California’s farm country, demanding just wages, rights and respect for the nation’s immigrant farm workers. Organized by the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF) to occur during the peak of growing season, participants hope to send a loud and clear […]
The Senate is set to reconsider today the Teen Endangerment Act, originally introduced as the Child Custody Protection Act, a bill that would make it a federal crime for any person other than a parent or legal guardian to accompany a minor across state lines to have an abortion. The Teen Endangerment Act has been […]
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced yesterday that she has signed the first bill on the way to allowing single-sex education in Michigan. Senate Bill 1296, signed on Wednesday, changes the state code to allow single-sex schools. Three related bills that have not yet been sent to Granholm for signature include changes in state anti-discrimination and […]
Former Christian Coalition Leader and chairman of the Georgia Republican Party Ralph Reed lost the primary for the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia yesterday. Reed suffered a sound defeat, conceding with less than half of the precincts counted. Georgia state senator Casey Cagle defeated Reed with a margin of 56 to 44 percent. Many attribute Reed’s […]
President Bush used his veto power for the first time in his five-year presidency yesterday when he held a ceremony in the White House to veto legislation that would have allowed federal funding to be used for embryonic stem cell research. Just hours later, in a vote of 235 to 193, the House of Representatives […]
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his cabinet have approved the reestablishment of the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The Afghan Parliament will consider the proposal when it reconvenes later this summer. Initiated by the Taliban, the Vice and Virtue Department sent religious police to patrol the streets where they brutally […]
The Senate passed a bill yesterday that would expand federal funding for stem cell research. The House of Representatives passed the same legislation in 2005 and will reconsider the bill today, where it is expected to pass on a simple majority vote. The bill will then go to President Bush, who has said he will […]
