The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon on Tuesday became the first archdiocese ever to file for bankruptcy protection because of damages awarded to victims of sexual abuse by priests. The bankruptcy filing will stop a lawsuit seeking $130 million in damages scheduled to go to trial on Tuesday brought by two alleged victims of priest sexual […]
The first post-Taliban elections that were scheduled to take place in September have been delayed due to slow voter registration and insecurity created by Taliban-like militia and so-called warlords. According to the Associated Press, Afghan officials have said that they are looking at the end of September or October to hold the elections, though no […]
Three Portuguese women are standing trial for allegedly undergoing illegal abortions. According to Agence France Presse, two 26-year-old women are being accused of having illegal abortions, and their midwife is being charged for performing the abortions. Portugal’s abortion laws are very restrictive. In Portugal a woman can receive an abortion up to her 12th week […]
In a vote of 51 to 46 yesterday, the Senate confirmed James Leon Holmes to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Holmes, who once wrote that “…a wife is to subordinate herself to her husband,” holds far-right views on reproductive rights, the role of women, and separation of church and state. […]
Three health textbooks pending approval in Texas are so focused on abstinence that they fail to cover state-mandated information on contraception and condom use. The books have been granted preliminary approval by a review panel, reports the Houston Chronicle, but critics claim that the books fail to discuss contraceptive methods outside of abstinence. Written testimony […]
Voters in the Mexican state of Zacatecas have chosen a woman to be governor for the first time in Mexico since the end of one-party domination. Amalia Garcia, of the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) claimed victory in state elections this past Sunday, according to The Guardian. The daughter of a former governor […]
A suspicious fire broke out a women’s health clinic in Palm Beach County, Florida late Friday night. Dale Armstrong, resident agent investigating the fire with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, said that the fire was started purposefully. “It’s a common method: break a window, throw in an accelerant,” Armstrong told the […]
The Senate has scheduled a vote for Tuesday on the confirmation of James Leon Holmes to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. A hard-line anti-abortion activist, Holmes served as president of the Arkansas Right to Life, has worked extensively to overturn Roe v. Wade, and has compared pro-choice advocates to Nazis […]
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a ban on the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which threatened to criminalize not only pornographic but also sex education and advice websites. This ruling is the second time the Court has blocked COPA for its undue restrictions on freedom of speech, according to the ACLU. Opponents of COPA […]
Respect for human rights and the elimination of inequality must be emphasized alongside of efforts to reduce poverty, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid, at the Ad Hoc Committee meeting on Population and Development of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said she is […]
The US government’s abstinence-only funding policy is responsible for a “sweeping, comprehensive attack on sexual rights” in Latin America and the Caribbean, new reports revealed this week. The International Working Group on Sexuality and Social Policy released two reports detailing this problem at the meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission on Population and Development […]
In a move protecting independent and progressive media voices, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit blocked implementation of several Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that would have facilitated media conglomerates’ consolidation. The FCC regulations, which were voted on in 2003, loosened restrictions on media companies’ ownership of multiple broadcast sources, including allowing […]
A Missouri mandatory delay for abortion services law was suspended last Tuesday pending the outcome of a legal challenge filed by two Planned Parenthood affiliates. The law, which mandates a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion, had previously been suspended by US District Judge Scott O. Wright, according to Planned Parenthood of the […]
Several leading women’s groups released a scorecard grading the Bush Administration on its policies in Iraq and Afghanistan that affect women, including women’s political participation, health, and security. After announcing that President Bush received a “C” for rhetoric and an “F” for reality regarding women’s security in Afghanistan and Iraq, Eleanor Smeal, president of the […]
HIV/AIDS infection rates are increasing at an alarming rate for young women in Asia, the United Nations announced this past Thursday. Of particular significance is the emergence of young monogamous married women as a fast-growing demographic of AIDS sufferers. This group, formerly thought at low risk for the disease, are being infected with HIV by […]
Two Afghan women were killed and 13 more were wounded by a bomb that exploded on a bus filled with female election workers. According to the New York Times, a Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks and warned Afghans to stop working on the election process. The women on the bus were registration officials […]
The trial of alleged abortion clinic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph will be delayed until 2005. Rudolph is facing charges of the 1998 bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama women’s health clinic, which killed an off-duty police officer and severely maimed a nurse. US District Court Judge C. Lynwood Smith delayed the trial, which was scheduled to […]
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops drafted and approved with a vote of 183-6 a statement that Catholic politicians are obligated to speak out against legalized abortion. The statement also said the decision to deny communion to politicians who do support reproductive rights should be left up to local bishops. Bishop Michael Sheridan from Colorado […]
A new study released by The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SEICUS) reports that while abstinence-only-until-marriage education varies greatly from state to state, overall funding for it has increased dramatically in the last 15 years. Funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs has increased from $59 million per year in 1998 to $258 million in […]
Yesterday, the Senate voted 70-27 to confirm far-right Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Diane Sykes to the Seventh US Circuit Court of Appeals bringing the total number of federal judicial nominees confirmed during Bush’s term to 197. While all opposing votes came from the Democratic caucus, Sykes had the support of 21 Democrats, including Senators Herb […]
