Rape victims in Mexico face hostile officials who actively prevent women from accessing legal abortion services, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, “The Second Assault: Obstructing Access to Legal Abortion after Rape in Mexico,” details the aggressive ways in which state agencies discourage and delay women’s abortions. Abortion is […]
Yesterday, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds (R) signed a statewide abortion ban into law. The ban, which provides an exception only to save the life of a pregnant woman, will go into effect in July, although it is expected to be challenged in court, or possibly face a referendum. Anti-choice activists intend to use the […]
In a partial victory for women, Wal-Mart has announced that it will now carry emergency contraception (EC) in all of its pharmacies, complying with a February 14 ruling of the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy that forced the company to do so in that state. However, Wal-Mart’s policy will allow individual pharmacists to refuse to dispense […]
A recent analysis of states that enacted parental notification or consent laws has shown that the addition of these requirements did not lead to a decline in the abortion rate among teenagers. The study was conducted by the New York Times, which released its findings today. Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia were […]
In a recent study, researchers from the Guttmacher Institute found that 33 states made access to contraception and reproductive health services more difficult or expensive for women. From 1994 to 2001, many states passed laws restricting access to birth control, cut funding to state family planning services, and moved to abstinence-based sex education programs in […]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a report condemning Libya’s practice of confining women and girls in prison-like facilities for suspected moral transgressions. The report, A Threat to Society? Arbitrary Detention of Women and Girls for ‘Social Rehabilitation, details the use of so-called “protective” homes that are essentially prisons where women and girls are held […]
Mississippi’s House is currently considering a ban on all abortions in the state except those necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman or girl. The amendment, which is very similar to the ban just passed by South Dakota, is supported by anti-choice Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R). Barbour has said he would probably […]
Following the passage of a disastrous abortion ban in South Dakota, the Women’s Medical Fund and other abortion-rights activists are calling for pro-choice Americans to boycott all tourism in the state. The abortion ban, which has passed the legislature, is expected to be signed by Governor Mike Rounds (R), and then to face immediate legal […]
Newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sent a note to James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, thanking him for his support and the prayers of Dobson’s supporters. Dobson read the thank you note on his Wednesday radio program. According to Dobson, Alito’s note included a pledge to “keep in mind the trust […]
The United Kingdom’s Women and Work Commission, created by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2004, has released a report, “Shaping a Fairer Future,” outlining a path toward gender equality and pay equity in the workplace. According to the report, “increasing women’s employment and ending gender segregation that blights the jobs market É would benefit the […]
A report from the University of Michigan has found that following heart bypass surgery, women have a higher susceptibility to infections than male patients. Researchers say this may help to explain women’s higher mortality rate following cardiac surgery. Released in the most recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, the study included over 9,000 bypass […]
Effa Manley, co-owner of a Negro League baseball team, will be the first woman inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Manley and her husband owned the Newark Eagles, which won the Negro League World Series in 1946. She managed the business end of the team for more than a decade, working […]
A survey of women elected to parliaments by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) reveals that women currently hold a record 16.3 percent of parliamentary seats, a small number but one that has increased from 11.3 percent in 1995. Anders Johnsson, Secretary-General of IPU, stated, “Women account for roughly half of the world’s population. They remain dramatically […]
The Supreme Court today issued an 8-0 decision in two related cases first brought by the National Organization for Women (NOW) and two clinics of the National Women’s Health Organization on behalf of virtually all clinics and all women two decades ago. The Supreme Court’s decision in Scheidler, et al., v. NOW, et al. and […]
A CBS poll released yesterday indicates that President George Bush now has the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, and approval ratings for Vice-President Dick Cheney and Congress are also remarkably low. Only 34 percent of Americans approve of Bush’s general performance, and 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Bush himself, also […]
Octavia Butler, the celebrated feminist science fiction writer, died on Friday at 58. The first African-American woman to break into the male-dominated field of science fiction, Butler used the genre to explore themes of race, politics, poverty, morality, and gender. Writer and friend Tananarive Due told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “What she conveyed in her writing […]
As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to stall approval of over-the-counter access for Plan B, a form of emergency contraception (EC), states across the country have begun to legislate the issue for themselves. The Washington Post ran a piece today examining the trend, which includes 60 bills nationwide that aim to affect women’s […]
Portia Simpson Miller will soon become the first female prime minister in Jamaica after she was elected president of the governing People’s National Party on Saturday. Miller will take over as prime minister when incumbent PJ Patterson retires sometime before the next legislative session begins on April 1. “[Miller] is seen as someone who has […]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has reached a settlement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the abstinence education program known as the Silver Ring Thing, which was receiving government funding despite the religious content of its materials. As part of the settlement, HHS will not fund the current version of […]
In a decision condemned by women’s groups, Italian MPs, and UNICEF, Italy’s Supreme Court ruled last week that sexual abuse is less serious if the victim is not a virgin. The court ruled in favor of a middle-aged man who forced his 14-year-old stepdaughter to have oral sex with him, a crime for which he […]
