Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was sworn in yesterday as House Democratic Whip. Pelosi is now the highest-ranking woman in history in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Italian-American to serve as Democratic Whip. Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal attended the swearing in ceremony as well as a luncheon hosted by Pelosi and attended […]
Ecuador and Portugal became the 51st and 52nd countries to ratify the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week, joining the international community in its commitment to prosecuting the most heinous crimes against humanity. The ICC, if established, would be a permanent court designed to prosecute war criminals, genocide in addition to crimes against humanity, which […]
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing tomorrow for Charles Pickering, Sr., President Bush’s nominee to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Pickering, a federal judge from Mississippi, has a history of opposing the rights of women and minorities. As a state Senator, Pickering supported a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. He […]
Across the country today, women will celebrate the 16th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Organized by the Girls Scouts of the USA, Girls Incorporated, National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, Women’s Sports Foundation, and the YWCA, National Girls and Women in Sports Day will focus on “Celebrating 30 Years of […]
A flood of women and men gathered outside Kabul University to take entrance exams for admission into the school. So many people arrived to take the exams that police were called in to control the crowds. But despite the chaos, people were eager to take the exams, and Gholan Manten Dariz, head of Kabul University, […]
According to the Center for American Women in Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Rutgers University, as of February 2, 2002, 30 women from 21 states are considering running in gubernatorial elections this year, many from states with open seats, where there is no incumbent, presenting a better chance of a win. Currently, women make […]
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, continued to urge the Bush Administration to deploy peacekeeping troops into Afghanistan to ensure the success of the new government. President Bush has repeatedly refused requests to use U.S. troops in a peacekeeping role after the current mission in Afghanistan ends. Biden, however, claims […]
This year, women will compete in every sport in the Winter Olympics except the ski jump. The International Ski Federation (FIS) blocked women from entering the competition claiming that there were not enough female competitors in the sport. Critics, however, claim that if the FIS would open the ski jump to women, then more female […]
Car insurance premiums for women and senior citizens in Texas may soon decrease as the state legislature recently passed a bill allowing insurance companies to sell coverage by the mile. Under the new rules, drivers would purchase insurance for a certain number of miles. When those miles are reached, the plan would expire and need […]
In a new policy statement issued this month, the widely respected American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) formally declared its support of homosexual adoption as a way of protecting the best interest of children living in homosexual families. Citing two decades of studies suggesting that children of gays and lesbians are as psychologically and socially healthy […]
The U.S. Department of Justice will issue special visas to victims of sex trafficking which will allow them to reside in the United States if victims would suffer “extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm,” if they were to return to their countries of origin and if victims agree to assist law enforcement with the […]
The Bush administration announced plans Thursday to extend government-funded health care, via the States Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP), to fetuses. This would mark the first time that the government would recognized a fetus as a “person” eligible for government aid. Enacted in 1997, CHIP was designed to provide health coverage for children whose families […]
Eighteen Catholic religious orders in Ireland offered Wednesday to pay $110 million to children who were physically and sexually abused by nuns and priests while they lived in the Church’s schools and child care centers. Victims of the abuse, however, criticized the offer as too low. More than 3, 500 now-adults have filed for hearings […]
Conservative activists in the state of Utah are opposing the distribution of condoms as the upcoming Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT. In a state where every school district must obtain permission from a child’s parents to teach about pregnancy, childbirth, parenthood, and even physiology, residents are upset that condoms will be available for […]
Despite the lack of scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex education programs, President Bush will seek a 33% increase in funding for such programs in the FY 2003 budget. The funding will total $135 million and represent an increase of $33 million over the last year. While HHS Secretary Thommy Thompson, a […]
Findings from a small study done on women in the United Kingdom and China have found that mifepristone, also known as the abortion pill, has the potential to be used as an oral contraceptive. A study released this month in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that among the […]
NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has issued 34 subpoenas in a new wave of investigations into the safety and accuracy of so-called services being provided by crisis pregnancy centers in New York State. Citing complaints from state residents, Spitzer issued the subpoenas, reminding those groups under investigation that they are legally bound to explain the […]
Astrid Lindgren, creator and author of the popular Pippi Longstocking series, died Monday. The Swedish author became an internationally known figure in the 1940’s for her strong-willed and independent character, Pippi Longstocking. Pippi was a 9-year-old-girl who lived alone with her horse and monkey, while her father was off at sea and her mother had […]
The New Testament of Today’s New International Version of the Bible will be revised and released this spring to be more gender accurate. Revisions of the Old Testament are also underway and will be released in 2005. Gender specific terms will be replaced with terms that could apply to both sexes. Unfortunately, male terminology will […]
As parishioners’ calls continue for the resignation of Cardinal Law, because of a massive pedophilia scandal in the Massachusetts archdiocese, a diocese in Tucson, AZ has quietly settled a civil lawsuit in which several families claim the Tucson diocese tried to cover up allegations of sexual abuse by Msgr. Robert Trupia and 3 other priests […]
