In African nations where abortion is illegal, tens of thousands of women are forced to undergo back-street abortions that often lead to severe injury or death. Although statistics are difficult to gather because of the government and media’s hesitance to address the problem, it is estimated that deaths resulting from illegal abortions are twice as […]
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state cannot fund pregnancy-related services for low-income women without also funding medically necessary abortions. Chief Justice Dana Fabe wrote in her decision that “once the state undertakes to fund medically necessary services for poor Alaskans, it may not selectively exclude from that program women who medically require […]
Acting State Department Spokesperson Charles F. Hunter announced yesterday that $27 million from the State Department’s Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund has been authorized “to respond to unexpected and urgent humanitarian emergencies in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Eritrea and Afghanistan.” $6.5 million of these new funds will be allocated to assist displaced Afghans in the […]
On Friday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a foreign aid spending bill that includes an amendment reversing the Global Gag Rule. The “Global Gag Rule,” reinstated by President Bush last January, prohibits U.S. funding of overseas family planning programs that use their own money to provide abortions or abortion counseling. The amendment was sponsored by […]
The Economic Policy Institute’s recent study, Hardships in America, found that approximately 14 million Americans in households with at least one wage-earner were unable to pay for their basic needs. The authors of Hardship in America explain that the federal “poverty threshold,” based on the cost of food, is inadequate now because “families now spend […]
A recent poll shows 61 percent of American Catholics support stem cell research. The poll is a significant finding in the wake of President Bush’s visit with Pope John Paul II, whose absolute opposition to the research goes against Catholic opinion. According to political scientist David Leege, Catholics can instead make a strong “compassionate conservative” […]
The Bush Administration continues to promote an “abstinence only” approach to reproductive and sexual health, significantly scaling back efforts to promote family planning and contraceptive use. Bush has taken several measures to restrict family planning services, both at home and abroad, since his inauguration. Most recently, an ordained Catholic deacon working with the Department of […]
On May 9, George W. Bush announced his federal judicial nominees—among the 11 were 3 men of color, 3 white women, and 2 former Clinton picks. Not bad, right? Wrong. Take a closer look and you’ll find four ultra-right-wingers and five conservatives, though no one really knows much about them because Dubya cut the American […]
On a hot day in the central Nepalese village of Mahadev Besi, hundreds gather to watch The Policeman’s Moustache. The play features a brothel owner who tricks a family into selling their two teenage daughters to him, supposedly to work in a carpet factory. It’s a common scenario in Nepal, where 5,000 to 7,000 girls […]
For the next anti-globalization demonstration, I’m bringing a gas mask. I like to be where the action is, and these days you need protection, even in Canada. One of the effects of globalization is that countries become more and more alike. The violent confrontations in April between the police and protesters in Quebec City during […]
The Coalition for Firefighters’ Civil Rights plans to request action from the Boston City Council amid claims that gay and minority firefighters are subject to rampant discrimination that has been largely ignored by the department. At the Thursday City Council hearing, the Coalition will urge the creation of a committee to deal with the department’s […]
Feeling pissed that George W.’s disastrous “tax relief” plan was signed into law? Irked that so many Democrats rolled over, played dead, and voted for the bill? Horrified at the number of social services that will be cut as a result of this legislation, and at the big bonuses going to the richest citizens and […]
A growing number of teenagers who suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia, are posting messages and visiting “pro-anorexia” Web sites on which they share tips and strategies for losing weight, exercising and hiding their eating disorders from their friends and family. “Kris,” a 21 year-old bulimic college senior who operates such a Web […]
The non-profit Catalyst released a survey yesterday of the status of women in seven top Wall Street securities firms. The study was commissioned in the settlement of a sex-discrimination lawsuit against Smith Barney, and explores gender issues in Wall Street workplaces. One-third of women reported a hostile work environment, in which they had to put […]
Phoolan Devi, the outlaw-turned-lawmaker portrayed in the movie “Bandit Queen,” was assassinated yesterday outside her New Delhi home. Forced to marry at the age of 12, Devi fled her abusive husband and then joined a gang of outlaws who robbed from members of the upper castes and protected the lower castes, especially women. After Devi […]
Joining a vast coalition of labor, environment and women’s rights organizations, The Feminist Majority will participate in a nationwide action to oppose current fast track legislation that gives the President almost unilateral authority to negotiate international trade agreements. With Fast Track, Congress can only vote trade agreements that the President makes up or down; Congress […]
Senator Paul D. Wellstone (D-MN) plans to introduce the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act today, which will help protect millions of workers–predominantly women–who suffer from intimate partner violence that follows them from the home into the workplace. The bill prohibits discrimination against victims of intimate partner violence in hiring, firing and promotions, and calls […]
James Kopp, accused of the 1998 murderer of New York abortionist Dr. Barnett Slepian, claims he was in Pittsburgh during the time investigators believe he was in Tennessee purchasing a weapon. Doris Grady, who has known Kopp since 1988, claims Kopp was at her Pittsburgh home “that whole week.” She has provided receipts dated July […]
John Burt, anti-abortion extremist and director of Our Father’s House, a home for unwed mothers, was convicted Tuesday of violating Pensacola’s noise ordinance during a demonstration outside the Community Healthcare Center. Judge Thomas Johnson suspended a 60 day jail sentence and placed Burt on probation for six months, ordering him not to go within a […]
The National Center for Health Statistics reports that the birth rate for women 15-19 years old, which has declined steadily for the past nine years, hit a record low last year of 48.7 births per 1,000 teen women. Condom use may be a major cause of this decrease. While use of the pill has declined […]
