While the U.S. works to ensure rights for a U.S. Airman accused of rape, Japanese women’s groups like Okinawan Women Against Military Violence wonder if the young assault victim will be afforded the same justice. The serviceman accused of sexually assaulting a young Japanese woman will be prosecuted under Japanese law. The US agreed to […]
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson revealed that $17.1 million in community-based abstinence education grants have been given to 49 communities to carry out abstinence-only sex education programs for teenagers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention almost half of all high school students were sexually active in 1999. Surgeon General David […]
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed a new regulation that would allow states to classify an “unborn embryo” as a “target low-income child” who is eligible for medical care under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). HHS and White House officials claim the proposal is strictly an attempt to improve […]
Recent studies by Knight Ridder and the Brookings Institution show the percentage of women nominated to high level positions decreasing sharply in recent months. Of Clinton’s first 512 appointments, 37 percent were women. Of Bush’s first 264 nominees up for Senate confirmation, only 69 (26.1 percent) are women. Roselyn O’Connell comments, “It’s discouraging to me […]
A rapid increase of AIDS diagnoses among heterosexual black women has largely contributed to women in the United States now accounting for a fourth of all new cases–double the rate from 10 years ago. Although black women make up only 7 percent of the population, they accounted for 16 percent of all new AIDS diagnoses […]
A New Jersey Appeals Court ruled that gender identity and expression is covered under anti-discrimination laws when it ruled in favor of Carla Enriquez, who sued after she was abruptly fired. Enriquez was hired as a medical director in 1995 when she was still appearing in public as a man, but found herself terminated after […]
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) could lose “millions” in federal aid if it enacts its new resolution that will force the resignation of any female cadet who becomes pregnant and any male cadet who impregates a woman, on or off-campus. Justice Department sources have told the Kaiser Family Foundation that the policy is in direct […]
A coalition of 60 moderate House and Senate Republicans, the Republican Main Street Partnership, sent a letter to President Bush urging support for embryonic stem cell research. The letter follows statements from conservative anti-abortion Senators including Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and a letter from another coalition of 30 House Republicans supporting federal funding of embryonic stem […]
Anti-abortion extremist John Burt is awaiting trial later this month for harassing patients at a Pensacola abortion clinic. On February 23rd, John Burt joined approximately 15 other protestors outside the Community Healthcare Center of Pensacola. Burt harassed black clients as they exited the clinic, shouting “This place has killed more than the Klu Klux Klan […]
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) has adopted a resolution that will force the resignation of any female cadet who becomes pregnant and any male cadet who impregates a woman, on or off-campus. The policy states that “a VMI cadet who chooses to marry, or to undertake the duties of a parent (including causing a pregnancy […]
A California appellate court ruled yesterday that Catholic Charities, an affiliated social services organization of the church, must provide contraceptive coverage for its female employees if it offers other prescriptive coverage. This judgment upholds the constitutionality of a 1999 state law mandating employers with prescription plans to provide contraception. The presiding justice of the Court […]
On January 19, Bariya Ibrahima Magazu, of Zamfara state in northern Nigeria, received 100 lashes for being pregnant and unmarried. Magazu, who doesn’t know if she is 13 or 14, says she was raped by three married men. But she could not prove her case under the state’s recent adoption of Sha’ria, traditional Islamic law […]
At what was believed to be the first gay and lesbian rights march in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, dozens of activists were attacked by opponents of equality for homosexuals in the Serbian nation. “Roving bands of young men” attacked the marchers one by one, kicking them repeatedly until police arrived on the scene. The attacks took place […]
The National Organization for Women (NOW) elected new national officers during its weekend conference in Philadelphia. Kim A. Gandy, NOW’s executive vice president, was voted the first new president in a decade. The very diverse team elected with Gandy includes NOW veterans Karen Johnson, Olga Vives and Terry O’Neil who won the offices of Executive […]
The ranks of conservative Republicans now supporting medical research using cells collected from human embryos is increasing. While President Bush considers whether to fund stem cell research, which is fiercely opposed by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and anti-abortion groups, prominent anti-abortion Republicans claim it is possible to be both “pro-life” and “pro-stem cell.” […]
The University of California’s Los Angeles School of Public Health released a study indicating that health patterns among lesbians and bisexual women put them at a higher risk of cancer and other chronic diseases associated with smoking and obesity than heterosexual women. The study finds that lesbian and bisexual women are less likely to have […]
Surgeon General David Satcher released the “Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior” yesterday urging parents and teachers to present children with a comprehensive sex education program that permits the distribution of contraception in schools and promotes tolerance of homosexuality. The Bush Administration has attempted to distance itself from the report […]
If veteran feminist, doctor, and sociologist Nawal Saadawi is tried under hisba, she and her husband of 37 years could be forcibly divorced. Hisba is a concept in ancient Islamic law that allows citizens to police fellow citizens for religious righteousness. Saadawi has been viewed as an agitator by Muslim fundamentalist throughout her 30 years […]
A French court recommended that James Charles Kopp, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, be extradited to the United States. Kopp is charged in the murder of abortion provider Dr. Barnett Slepian. Extradition was recommended only on the grounds that “the death penalty will not be requested, pronounced or applied.” France abolished capital punishment […]
“Game Face: What does a Female Athlete Look Like” premiered at the Smithsonian in Washington DC yesterday, depicting women of all ages and races participating in a variety of sports at every athletic level. In addition to the exhibit, co-curators Jane Gottesman and Geoffrey Biddle established an educational outreach program for high schools and colleges […]
