The South Dakota Senate yesterday approved (23-12) a bill that would make it a felony for doctors to perform any abortions in the state except those necessary to save the life of the woman. The state House overwhelmingly passed the bill earlier this month. Because the Senate slightly changed the wording of the bill, the […]
Unmarried women hold solidly progressive views and would vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates if they voted regularly, according to a new poll released this week by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner. The survey was sponsored by the Women’s Voices. Women Vote. Action Fund (WVWVAF) to explore the reasons that 20 million single women did not vote in […]
Afghan women would be forbidden to travel without a male chaperone if a male member of the Afghan parliament has his way. Al-Haji Abdul Jabbar Shalgarai called the participation of two women members of parliament in a major donor’s conference “un-Islamic” and a violation of the law because they traveled without their husbands, according to […]
Harvard University President Lawrence Summers, who outraged faculty and women around the country with his remarks on women and the sciences, has announced that he will resign at the end of this academic year. Harvard arts and sciences faculty had planned to vote on a motion of no confidence in Summers’ leadership next week, repeating […]
In the past week, there have been several developments related to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) delay in making a decision about over-the-counter status for the emergency contraceptive Plan B. Last Thursday, acting FDA Commissioner Andrew Von Eschenbach testified before the House of Representatives’ Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the FDA’s 2007 budget. Democrats […]
Today, the Supreme Court announced that it will consider the Justice Department’s appeal of a ruling that a federal ban on abortions was unconstitutional. The case involves the Partial-Birth Abortion Act, passed by Congress in 2003, but never enforced. Circuit courts around the country considered challenges to the law and ruled it to be unconstitutional […]
Emergency contraception may soon be available without a prescription in pharmacies in Colorado and New York. A committee in the Colorado House has voted in favor of a bill giving pharmacists the authority to dispense emergency contraception, and New York Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer (D) announced his support for pharmacy access in […]
In the last eight years, the number of women with policy-making posts in state government has barely budged, says a new study from the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society (CWIG). Between 1998 and 2005, the percentage of women in policy-making positions – such as state legislators, elected officials, high court judges, department […]
An effective ban on RU-486 in Australia ended this week when the Australian House of Representatives passed a bill to remove Health Minister Tony Abbot’s veto over the drug. The vote concurs with an earlier Senate decision. Decisions regarding mifepristone will now rest with the country’s main drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which is […]
School boards and educators across the nation have been notified by Stephanie Monroe, the new Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education, that protecting students from sexual harassment using Title IX sexual harassment guidance must become a top priority. In her “Dear Colleague” letter, Monroe said that “a […]
Despite claims that President Bush believes family planning services are the best way to reduce abortions, his proposed budget would cut aid for international family planning by eighteen percent. This cut would reduce the amount offered from $436 million to $357 million, reports The New York Times. Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY), a member of the […]
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) and WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, joined by Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues co-chairs Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) and Hilda Solis (D-CA), released a new report on yesterday examining the ways in which heart disease affects women. The report, The 10 Q Report: Advancing Women’s […]
Tuesday, the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy unanimously decided to require Wal-Marts in the state to stock emergency contraception (EC), making it the second state where women can fill EC prescriptions at the retail giant. Illinois already had a state law requiring pharmacies that stock any form of contraception to also stock EC. Wal-Mart spokesperson Dan […]
A study of hair samples from more than 6500 people found that one in five women of childbearing age has mercury levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended limit. Mercury contamination is particularly harmful for women who could become pregnant and very young children, as early exposure to mercury can cause health problems including neurological […]
Nearly 200 Zimbabwean women were arrested following their participation in a march against President Mugabe, economic crises in the country and human rights violations. Led by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), activists marched through the city of Bulawayo on Valentine’s Day in protest of the hardships faced by women and children. The “bread and roses” […]
Cervarix, the brand-name human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline, will be submitted for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval this year, bringing women closer to effectively preventing the cause of most cervical cancer. The drug will also be submitted for approval in Europe next month. In clinical trials, Cervarix has been 100 percent effective in […]
A Polish woman who suffered severe health consequences after being denied an abortion is taking her case before the European Court of Human Rights. Alicja Tysiac sought an abortion after three ophthalmologists predicted that carrying her child to term would likely further damage her failing eyesight. But the same three specialists, as well as a […]
Ms Magazine Associate Publisher Alicia Daly was honored with a “Young Woman of Achievement” Award by the Women’s Information Network (WIN) at their 13th annual awards event on Wednesday evening. Daly, who joined the staff of Ms. magazine in 2002 after the magazine’s publishing was taken over by the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), was cited […]
The Australian Senate passed a measure this week that will increase women’s access to mifepristone. The bill takes the regulation of mifepristone (also known as RU-486) away from the Minister of Health, giving regulatory power to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, a non-elected government agency. While under the oversight of the Minister of Health, currently abortion-opponent […]
A poll released on Sunday by CBS/New York Times found that some 92 percent of Americans would vote for a qualified woman president. Moreover, 55 percent think America is ready for a woman president. This is the highest number recorded since CBS began asking the question in 1996. Another recent poll conducted last fall by […]
