On Saturday, thousands of people marched through the streets of Atlanta to memorialize the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and to push for its reauthorization. The march was organized by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, president of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, who said “the South must be revived as the battleground for our quest for a […]
At the recent meeting of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research in Amsterdam, a team of scientists from the University of Washington presented evidence that consistent condom use reduces young women’s risk of contracting human papillomavirus (HPV). Researchers followed 123 college-aged women for an average of 22 months, collecting electronic diaries in which […]
In the midst of a deepening food crisis, one in four children born in Niger dies before the age of five, with experts predicting even higher mortality rates in the next few months. Niger is currently the second poorest country in the world, with women and children most affected by malnutrition and poor health. While […]
The Christian Church, also known as the Disciples of Christ, has elected Sharon Watkins to serve as General Minister and President of its 750,000 member denomination. Watkins becomes the first woman to lead a mainline Protestant denomination. She was elected by an overwhelming majority of delegates at the church’s 2005 General Assembly. Founded in the […]
Eleven women Senators sent a letter to President Bush yesterday expressing their concerns that the draft Iraqi constitution includes provisions that “may jeopardize the rights of Iraqi women.” Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Hillary R. Clinton (D-NY), Susan Collins (R-ME), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Blanche L. Lincoln (D-AR), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), […]
Recently released documents by the National Archives have exposed an even more troubling, right-wing John Roberts. During his role as special assistant to Attorney General William French Smith for the Reagan administration, Roberts not only wrote in opposition to the right to privacy but also to crucial civil rights laws, including the Voting Rights Act […]
The Mellman Group released the results yesterday of an online focus group conducted with 107 swing voters on the issue of John Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court. While voters initially knew little about him, learning details about several specific briefs and decisions greatly increased their opposition to his nomination. Even before hearing about Roberts’ […]
New York Governor George Pataki (R) has announced his intention to veto legislation to allow women in New York to access emergency contraception at pharmacies, without a prescription. Spokesperson Kevin Quinn made the announcement, citing a concern that the bill did not restrict access for minors, and later suggesting that the legislation prohibit men from […]
Despite safety concerns, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has preliminarily approved the sale of silicone breast implants made by Mentor Corporation. Due to widespread reports of women experiencing illnesses and pain from ruptured and leaky implants, in 1992 the FDA banned the use of silicone implants except in cases of reconstructive surgery. According to […]
For the second time, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has refused to answer questions about whether the President is opposed to contraception. “Apparently, the White House finds answering a simple question about contraception as difficult as answering questions about Karl Rove,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). “It’s been almost two months, and we still […]
Conrad Harper, the only African-American to ever serve on the Harvard Corporation, the university’s seven-member governing board, resigned on July 28, citing disagreements with Harvard President Lawrence Summers. Harper resigned in protest over a 3 percent increase in Summers’ salary. “In my judgment, your [Summers’] 2004-2005 conduct, implicating, as it does, profound issues of temperament […]
Afghan women candidates in the upcoming September 18 parliamentary elections are running despite threatening letters and phone calls demanding that they withdraw from the election. In Logar province, one female candidate’s door was set on fire, while in Helmand province, letters offering a US $4,000 reward for killing female candidates were given out, according to […]
A major newspaper in Ohio conducted a three-month investigation into the priest sex abuse cover-up in Ohio, finding that in many cases police and other authorities were complicit. The Toledo Blade investigation found that there was an “unwritten policy” under which police officers treated priests accused of molesting children differently than other pedophiles. Priests accused […]
An important publication for feminist scholars, creative writers, and activists, has announced that it will resume publication in January 2006. Women’s Review of Books, founded and published by the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW), provided a critical space for the review of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry by women for 22 years until it was forced […]
President Bush appointed John Bolton as the US Ambassador to the United Nations today, bypassing the Senate. This appointment was made even after it was revealed that Bolton answered a Senate questionnaire inaccurately, stating that he had not been interviewed as part of any administrative investigation within the last five years. In fact, he was […]
During his confirmation process, John Bolton, Bush’s nominee to be the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations, inaccurately stated in a questionnaire that he had not been interviewed as part of any administrative investigation within the last five years. After initially stating that Bolton had answered the question correctly, the State Department has confirmed […]
Seven Democratic women Senators announced at a press conference yesterday that they will insist Supreme Court justice nominee John Roberts respond to questions about his position on abortion. The Senators are also demanding that Roberts clarify his position on the right to privacy, which underlies not only a woman’s right to legal abortion but also […]
US District Judge Laurie Smith Camp has ruled that Union Pacific Railroad’s failure to provide contraceptive coverage in employee health plans was discriminatory and a violation of the 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act. Many preventative medications were covered by the plan, including impotence treatments, and Camp ruled that the policy discriminates by treating “medical care […]
John Burt, an anti-abortion extremist, was taken into custody yesterday after losing an appeal of his conviction for molesting a 15-year-old girl who was in his care at his so-called home for “unwed” mothers, Our Father’s House. A three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal ruled unanimously to uphold Burt’s conviction, the Associated […]
Two key Senators said yesterday that the confirmation of John Roberts to the Supreme Court could become more difficult if he refuses to divulge his views on past court cases. “Just as you would not have a justice nominee who said, ‘Well I wouldn’t consider Brown vs. Board of Education settled law,’ I don’t see […]
