The feminist movement is gearing up in preparation for the Supreme Court confirmation hearings on John Roberts for Chief Justice. The hearings were rescheduled to begin September 12 at noon, and will continue throughout the week beginning at 9:30 am each day. “As Chief Justice, Roberts would be in the nation’s top judicial leadership position […]
California’s legislature yesterday passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage by changing the definition of marriage from ‘a civil contract between a man and a woman’ to ‘a civil contract between two persons.’ A spokeswoman for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who supports domestic partnerships but not same-sex marriage, said that he believes this issue […]
Uganda, often cited as a positive story in the battle against HIV/AIDS due to dropping rates of infection, has restricted the availability of condoms, creating a crisis situation that is putting many lives at risk, particularly those of adolescents and young adults. According to the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), the shortage began […]
President Bush on Monday nominated John Roberts to fill the late William Rehnquist’s seat as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Women’s and civil rights groups immediately reaffirmed their opposition to Roberts and called on President Bush to release Roberts’ papers from his time as deputy solicitor general. “President Bush and John Roberts must be […]
With a second vacancy on the Supreme Court, and Judge John Roberts nominated as Chief Justice, women’s rights leaders reiterated their appeal for a woman appointee to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. “We again call on President Bush to choose a moderate woman jurist to fill Sandra Day O’Connor’s historic seat. He did not win […]
Leading organizations, including the Feminist Majority, held a press conference today on the grassroots efforts to defeat John Roberts, President Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Plans ranged from demonstrations outside the Roberts’ hearings and in key states across the country to poetry slams, petition-signing, and rallies on college campuses. “Roberts could roll back women’s […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation joined the National Organization for Women (NOW) and other women’s groups in protesting on Tuesday the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s decision to further delay approval of emergency contraception for over-the-counter sales. This marks the third time the FDA has delayed a decision, this time citing concerns about the safety of […]
The Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies released its report Thursday on the policies of the US Military Academy at West Point, and the US Naval Academy at Andover. The report used site visits, interviews, and reviews of existing data to compile the report, and issued […]
Susan Wood, PhD, the top woman at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced her resignation today because of the continued FDA delay on over-the-counter status for emergency contraception (EC). In a letter announcing her resignation, Wood, who was the Assistant Commissioner for Women’s Health and Director of the FDA Office of Women’s Health, wrote, […]
Bunnatine Greenhouse, a top African-American woman in the Army Corps of Engineers who was an outspoken critic of the US government’s no-bid contract with Halliburton for work in Iraq, was removed from her position effective Saturday. She had been in the Senior Executive Service in the Army Corps, the highest rank for civilians, until she […]
Iraq’s draft constitution was finalized on Sunday and will be sent to voters for a nationwide referendum to be held in six weeks. The finalized draft includes language of grave concern to women in Iraq—namely, that Islam is to be considered “a basic source of law” and that no law may contradict the “undisputed rules” […]
Today, for the third time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) delayed its decision on making the emergency contraceptive Plan B available over-the-counter. This delay flies in the face of the deal between Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt. The Senators had blocked Lester Crawford’s […]
Several major groups have announced their opposition to John Roberts for the Supreme Court, including People for the American Way, Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). These organizations join the many major groups that are […]
A meeting to finalize the Iraq constitution, scheduled for tonight, has been canceled, delaying the adoption of the new constitution yet again. Women in Iraq are very concerned about the language in the constitution making Islamic law “a primary source of legislation” and providing that no law may be in conflict with the “universal provisions” […]
The state of Kano, in northern Nigeria, has banned women from most motorcycle taxis and has instituted segregated seating on public buses. The ban is seen as a step in instituting sharia (Islamic) law in the province, as conservatives objected to close proximity to men necessary when women rode motorcycles or buses. IRIN News reports […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has withheld a grant from the Silver Ring Thing, an abstinence-only education program, after finding that the program did not adequately separate the religious components from its federally funded activities. The Washington Post reports that Harry Wilson, associate commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau, wrote […]
Televangelist Pat Robertson, on an episode of his show “The 700 Club,” said that the United States should assassinate Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela. On Monday, Robertson told his audience, “You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if [Chavez] thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that […]
Anti-abortion extremist Eric Robert Rudolph was sentenced yesterday to four consecutive life terms in prison plus 120 years without parole for bombings of an abortion clinic, a lesbian and gay nightclub, and the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Rudolph was also sentenced last month to two consecutive life sentences without parole for the bombing of […]
The $54 million settlement of a sex discrimination case against Morgan Stanley last year includes $40 million that will go to 67 current and former female employees who filed successful claims. The plaintiffs in the case alleged systematic bias in pay and job opportunities between 1995 and 2004. This is the second-largest sex discrimination settlement […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the US Navy was not responsible for the cost of an abortion for a woman whose fetus had anencephaly. This neural tube defect is always fatal, with only 2 percent of infants surviving more than a week after birth, according to Kaiser. When the Navy […]
