The US House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that would strip the federal courts, including the US Supreme Court, of its jurisdiction over same-sex marriage cases. The so-called Marriage Protection Act (H.R. 3313) was passed by a vote of 233-194. The bill’s aim is to block the federal courts from deciding the constitutionality of […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out an Idaho law last Friday that required parental consent for minors before they could obtain an abortion. The law was challenged by Planned Parenthood of Idaho and one of only four doctors who perform abortions in the state. Judge Marsha Benson, writing for the court, said the […]
A United Nations Population Fund official expressed her disappointment regarding the Bush Administration’s withdrawal of another $34 million for the UNFPA last week. Eriko Hibi, the UNFPA’s deputy director in Uzbekistan, asserted that the blockage of funds will have a negative impact on reproductive health activities in Central Asia and will constrain their program activities […]
Interns at the Feminist Majority Foundation held a briefing on Capitol Hill yesterday urging college students to register and mobilize young women to vote in November as part of FMF’s Get Out Her Vote Campaign. Speakers emphasized the importance of turning out the young women’s vote at this critical time and they described the how-to’s […]
Iran’s parliament on Tuesday approved a draft of a bill to legalize abortion in the first four months of pregnancy. According to the bill, an abortion can be performed only when the woman’s life is in danger and/or when the fetus is malformed. According to Iran’s Payyand News, a woman will also need the consent […]
Senate Democrats were successful yesterday in blocking yet another radically conservative judicial nominee put forth by the Bush administration, the seventh such extremist to have been blocked by Democratic filibusters. William G. Myers III was nominated to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for a lifetime seat. Myers has also praised what […]
The new Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, is making protection against domestic violence a top priority in his government. Zapatero called violence against women his country’s “worst shame” according to the New York Times. Following through on his campaign platform to fight violence against women, his first bill introduced to Parliament since […]
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denigrated members of the California Legislature by referring to them as ‘girlie men’ at a rally on Saturday. The comment came in a speech to drum up support for the governor’s budget, which is currently more than two weeks late, according to the LA Times. Members of the state legislature, of […]
A Dallas newspaper recently brought to light a case in which a Canadian priest accused of sexually abusing minors was moved by the Catholic Church to the United States. This case is the latest reported by the Dallas News, which is publishing the results of a special year-long investigation of priests accused of sexually abusing […]
Martha Stewart was sentenced this morning to five months in prison on four counts of conspiracy and lying to investigators about a sale of ImClone stock in 2001 that preceded by one day a drop in the price per share. “This was an overzealous prosecution by a Justice department wielding an obscure federal law against […]
Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a letter to Congress today stating that the United States will not fund the UNFPA for 2004. According to a press statement issued by the State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher, “This decision means that this organization (UNFPA) will not receive the $34 million earmarked for its activities by Congress […]
In a vote that fell far short of the three-fifths majority needed, the Senate overwhelmingly blocked attempts to move forward on the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. The vote on cloture, which would have ended debate on the proposed amendment and stymied […]
An amendment to the agricultural appropriations bill (HR 4766) that would facilitate over-the-counter (OTC) status to emergency contraception passed on Tuesday in the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. The amendment, introduced by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), states that the FDA cannot withhold a drug from OTC use if it finds […]
Slim-Fast announced yesterday that it was dropping feminist comedian Whoopi Goldberg from its advertisements after she made jokes about President Bush at a fundraiser for John Kerry last week. The jokes included double entendres using Bush’s name. “I have used portions of the material I did at the fund-raiser in shows, speeches, and even on […]
Faced with charges of sex discrimination in the workplace, Morgan Stanley agreed yesterday to pay a $54 million settlement rather than stand trial. The lawsuit, settled with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), came just minutes before an EEOC lawyer would have switched on a projector and displayed statistical evidence against the firm. Female […]
An amendment to the agricultural appropriations bill (HR 4766) that would facilitate over-the-counter (OTC) status to emergency contraception was introduced today by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Henry Waxman (D-CA). The amendment states that the FDA cannot withhold a drug from OTC use if it finds that drug to be safe and effective for OTC […]
A massive effort organized by a broad-based coalition of women’s rights and health organizations, environmentalists, HIV/AIDS organizations, and religious organizations joined together to call President Bush today to demand that he reinstate critical funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The Bush Administration will be making its final decision whether to fund or not […]
A groundbreaking new paid family leave law went into effect in California on July 1, making it easier for employees to spend time with new infants or to care for ailing relatives. The family leave law provides employees with up to 55 percent of their regular pay for up to six weeks of leave time. […]
A Senate vote next week could amend the Constitution to limit marriage and marriage rights to heterosexual couples. The Federal Marriage Amendment would restrict certain rights only to straight couplesÑincluding marriage benefits such as property ownership, child custody, and medical decision-making, effectively disenfranchising gay couples across the nation. Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Cheryl Jacques […]
The United Nations has issued a report warning that there is a global health crisis among women as a result of the significant rise of HIV/AIDS infections. According to UN News Service, women currently outnumber infected men by as many as two to one in southern African countries. According to Stephanie Urdang, UNIFEM’s gender and […]
