Last week marked the first anniversary of the Younger Women’s Task Force (YWTF), a grassroots organization dedicated to activating younger women around important issues in their lives. Since its founding in 2005 as a project of the National Council for Women’s Organizations, YWTF has grown to include eleven chapters with over 2,000 members in 30 […]
Reporters Without Borders (RWB) held a demonstration in Paris on Tuesday to mark the 30th day of captivity for American freelance journalist Jill Carroll, who was kidnapped in Baghdad by the previously unknown group Revenge Brigade on January 7. According to RWB, 37 journalists, including eight women, have been abducted in Iraq since March of […]
In a unanimous ruling Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court granted Attorney General Phill Kline permission to investigate records from abortion clinics, but patients’ names and personal information will be withheld from the records he sees. The case relates to 90 records from 2003 which Kline subpoenaed in 2004. Kline wanted the records to include patients’ […]
The British government has announced that it will give three million pounds to the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s new Global Safe Abortion Programme in response to the Bush Administration’s Global Gag Rule policy. The gag rule currently in place bars family planning programs in countries that receive US federal aid from using separate, private monies […]
Michelle Bachelet, the first woman elected president of Chile, appointed 10 women and 10 men to her Cabinet last Tuesday, fulfilling her campaign promise of a gender-balanced Cabinet. Women will fill the high-power positions of defense minister, economic minister, and chief of staff. “These are people with considerable intellectual, professional and political prestige,” said Bachelet […]
Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) released last week the results of a survey that found Catholic hospitals were not fully complying with laws requiring emergency contraception be provided to rape victims. The survey was done by Ibis Reproductive Health, on behalf of CFFC, and focused on Catholic hospitals in New York, New Mexico, California […]
Betty Friedan, author of the groundbreaking book (The Feminine Mystique)that helped launch the contemporary women’s movement, died today at the age of 85. “Not only did her book define the problem of the lesser status of women, but she also had the courage to launch a movement and an organization, the National Organization for Women, […]
Three women in Massachusetts have sued Wal-Mart over its refusal to stock emergency contraception in its pharmacies, calling it a violation of state law that requires pharmacies carry all “commonly prescribed medications.” The women, Katrina McCarty, Julia Battel, and Dr. Rebekah Gee, attempted to purchase emergency contraception (EC) at suburban Wal-Marts, and were told that […]
The women’s peace group CodePink has launched a massive anti-Iraq war petition campaign called “Women Say No to War.” The group aims to gather 100,000 signatures from women worldwide by March 8, International Women’s Day, at which point the petition will go to the White House and to US embassies. As of January 31, more […]
Research released as National Women’s Heart Health Month begins shows that heart disease manifests differently in women than in men and requires independent study and treatment, confirming a report on women’s health in the current issue of Ms magazine. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s study, “Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation” (or WISE), asserts that […]
In 2005, anti-choice bills were proposed in every state except Alaska and Nevada, according to a new report from the National Abortion Federation. Yet of the more than 500 anti-choice bills considered, only 26 were signed into law, according to the report (PDF). Anti-choice legislation that passed included both bans on abortion and restrictions on […]
Three newly built, coeducational schools in the Helmand province Afghanistan were destroyed by arson on Friday by suspected Taliban militants. The latest attacks follow a January 8 torching of an elementary school serving 1,350 female and male students in Kandahar. In the past two months, in separate attacks a male teacher was killed by militants […]
Cindy Sheehan, an anti-war activist and leader of Gold Star Families for Peace, was arrested last night at the State of the Union address for wearing a t-shirt that featured the number of American soldiers who have been killed so far in the Iraq war (2,245). Sheehan’s son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in 2004. […]
Yesterday, on the same day Samuel Alito was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice, two federal appeals courts issued rulings that the federal abortion procedure ban was unconstitutional because it lacked an exception for cases in which a woman’s health is in danger. The 2nd Circuit Court, in New York, chose to give both […]
Samuel Alito was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a 58-42 vote in the Senate today, the closest vote on a Supreme Court nominee since Clarence Thomas (52-48). “After Clarence Thomas was confirmed, several Senators lost their seats,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. “The consequences of the Republican stacking of the Supreme […]
Renowned civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, wife of the late Martin Luther King, Jr, passed away last night in her sleep at the age of 78. Coretta Scott King was well-known for her dedication to peace and civil rights, but she was also dedicated to women’s rights throughout her lifetime. King played a significant […]
Wendy Wasserstein, a prizewinning playwright whose works addressed feminism and the challenges of women’s lives, passed away yesterday. She was 55 years old, and had been fighting lymphoma for several months. “Her work was serious, and she put to art form the struggles and the current issues facing modern women,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of […]
A vote to end debate on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court will be held today at 4:30 pm. In order to succeed, Republicans supporting Alito’s nomination must garner 60 votes to invoke cloture, or end debate and move the nomination to a floor vote. If successful, Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist […]
A Missouri pharmacist was fired by Target over her refusal to fill or refer emergency contraception prescriptions. Williams had worked at Target for several years, but balked at Target’s insistence late last year that pharmacists agree to either fill such prescriptions or refer them elsewhere. Paula Gianino, executive director of the regional Planned Parenthood, told […]
Finland President Tarja Halonen, a political leftist, won reelection over the conservative Sauli Niinisto by a small margin in a runoff vote held Sunday. Halonen will serve another 6 years, where her primary role will continue to be shaping the Baltic country’s foreign policy. It is expected that Halonen will continue her policy of non-alignment […]
