The Mexican National Institute of Health is sponsoring a three-day regional conference for health officials from twenty Latin American countries to discuss the possibility of legalizing abortion. More than 250 health officials who are attending the conference, which began yesterday, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, will hear leaders speak to both sides of the issue. Protestors gathered […]
Approximately 200 reproductive health clinics in 15 states nationwide as well as several women’s rights and reproductive rights organizations, including the Feminist Majority Foundation, Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, and the Alan Guttmacher Institute, received suspicious packages yesterday. The few clinics that opened the packages found a white powder and a threatening letter. Officials […]
Velda Gonzlez may be 68 years old, a grandmother 11 times over, a breast cancer survivor, and the vice president of the Puerto Rican Senate, but that didn’t stop the U.S. Navy from publicly humiliating her. The degradation began when Gonzlez was arrested on April 28, after she and a group of coconspirators entered Camp […]
While Afghan women are in the midst of a refugee health crisis that threatens the lives of millions, the Vatican has criticized efforts by the United Nations to provide sound healthcare information and services. At issue is the UN Inter-Agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations which the Holy See offices condemn because […]
At least 35 reproductive health clinics in eight states nationwide as well as several women’s rights and reproductive rights organizations, including the Feminist Majority Foundation, Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, and the Alan Guttmacher Institute, received suspicious Federal Express packages today. The few clinics that opened the packages found a white powder and threatening […]
The Washington Post reports that out of the 98 television programs to publish their guest lists in the Post this month, only 12 were to feature women as experts on the post-September 11 crises. The lack of women given airtime, however, does not correspond to women’s expertise on the issues. Television media may not be […]
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released a new report finding that empowering women and enabling them to control their fertility and reproduction are key to ensuring better environmental conditions and a decrease in global poverty. According to the report, State of World Population 2001, the world population threatens to reach 9.3 billion in 2050. […]
On Tuesday, both New Jersey and Virginia elected pro-choice governors to lead their states. Jim McGreevey (D) won the New Jersey gubernatorial contest with 56 percent of the vote, beating vocally anti-choice Bret Shundler. Exit polls indicate that voters supporting McGreevey were also concerned primarily about the economy and education. Schundler is for school vouchers. […]
Voters in three cities in Michigan and in Miami Beach, Florida voted in favor of gay rights in their municipalities. In Traverse City, Michigan, 58 percent of voters opposed amending the city charter to bar gays and lesbians from attaining “protected status” based on sexual orientation. Fifty-four percent of voters in Kalamazoo, Michigan rejected a […]
Marcus Wayman committed suicide in 1997 after police officers in Minersville, Pennsylvania threatened to tell his parents that he was gay. Yesterday, Wayman’s mother filed suit in federal court charging that the police officers violated her son’s right to privacy. She is seeking unspecified damages. In a 2-1 ruling, a federal appeals court determined in […]
At 24, Kim Miller had high expectations when she joined Wal-Mart as a cashier in Ocala, Florida. The company’s motto, our people make the difference, along with regular staff pep rallies, assurances of training and advancement, and an “open-door policy” for airing grievances were all signs of a promising future. But for nine years, Miller’s […]
Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid (D-NV) spoke candidly on the Senate floor yesterday about the suffering of Afghan women under the Taliban and urged the U.S. to intensify its efforts to restore Afghan women’s rights. Wearing a Symbol of Remembrance, a small square of mesh through which Afghan women must see, Reid acknowledged that women […]
The Taliban embassy in Pakistan issued a written statement admonishing the United Nations for not doing enough to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and demanding that it provide more relief. “It is unfortunate that the UN does not realize the problems of the Afghan nation,” the statement read. Ironically, the Taliban pointed to the […]
On Tuesday, voters will determine the extent of gay rights in five U.S. cities. The referenda, put on the ballot by reactionary conservatives hoping to limit gay rights, address a variety of issues. Traverse City and Kalamazoo, Michigan will vote on proposed city charter amendments barring “protected status” based on sexual orientation. Huntington Woods, Michigan […]
A study of 1672 women, performed by doctors from the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, show Ortho EVRA, a weekly contraceptive patch, to be safe and effective. Ortho EVRA delivers a steady dose of progestin and estrogen, the same hormones found in oral contraceptives, into the bloodstream to prevent pregnancy. A patch is worn for […]
Even after escaping the Taliban and fleeing to refugee camps in Pakistan, Afghan women are not free from danger, according to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative Dr. Olivier Brasseur. Brasseur spoke candidly with the BBC about the threat that many Afghan women face in the camps because of poor healthcare services, lack of funds, […]
The Washington state Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday in Vasquez v. Hawthorne that gay couples in long-term relationships have a legal right to the estates of their deceased partners. The Court based its decision on a legal concept aimed a protecting the interests of unmarried partners. A lower court ruled that the concept could not […]
Pro-Choice Virginia gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner (D), according to a recent Washington Post poll, enjoys a 10-point lead over his staunchly anti-choice opponent, Mark Earley (R). Earley opposes legal abortion even in cases of rape and incest and forged his strong anti-choice record while serving in the VA Senate and as VA Attorney General. In […]
The U.S. Senate will consider the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act of 2001. The bill, introduced by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) and co-sponsored by every woman Senator, would authorize the use of funds for educational and healthcare assistance for Afghan women and children living inside Afghanistan or as refugees in neighboring countries. Acknowledging […]
College students nationwide joined Feminist Majority Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan Chair Mavis Leno online to chat about how students can get involved in the FM Campaign to mobilize awareness and support for women and girls in Afghanistan. Leno focused the discussion on the humanitarian crisis for Afghan refugees, seventy-five percent of whom […]
