Thirteen women will graduate in the class of 2001 from the formerly all-male Virginia Military Institute (VMI) after four years of grueling physical and mental challenges and not-always-equal treatment from their classmates. VMI was the nation’s last public military school for men. With this year’s class, a total of 30 women will have graduated from […]
The Massachusetts General Hospital Neurological Web Forum collected 13,000 signatures urging President Bush “to support broad public funding of fetal and embryonic stem cell research.” The 750 page petition, which contained personal messages from stem cell research supporters, was sent to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson. All funding for stem cell research […]
According to a WomensEnews.org story by Cynthia L. Cooper, President Bush has fired the attorney who led the investigation into the assassination of Dr. Barnett Slepian and who coordinated the international law enforcement that led to the identification, indictment and arrest of Dr. Slepian’s killer–James Kopp. U.S. Attorney Denise O’Donnell was the first woman to […]
The numbers from the 2000 U.S. census are trickling out, and the results show shifts in the structure of American households and families that could result in pressuring lawmakers to acknowledge “nontraditional” households and even extend protection to unmarried straight and gay couples. The number of single person households now makes up 26 percent of […]
In July 1998, 120 countries, excluding the United States, voted to adopt the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). Article 7 of the Rome Statute presents clear language defining gender crimes including rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity, and crime […]
Congratulations to the new Leadership Alliances at the UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY, and the UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA. The U OF HOUSTON group is one of several Feminist Majority Leadership Alliances to launch exclusively from the online Choices Campus Community (www.feministcampus.org). Congratulations to all of the new FMLAs! To check out all of […]
The CSU SACRAMENTO LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE organized the Clothesline Project on their campus to raise awareness about victims of gender violence. The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance at CAL STATE LA fundraised and organized a large delegation to attend the GenderPAC NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GENDER in Washington, DC this week. For more information on GenderPAC and their […]
This month, hundreds of new members from Leadership Alliances and other campuses have joined the largest pro-choice campus network in the worldÑthe Choices Campus Community. New members include feminists from all over the world, including Singapore, Australia, Belgium, Canada, and South Africa. New members are a great resource for your feminist activism and a wonderful […]
Last week, the Massachusetts Governor’s Council, an eight-member panel who meets regularly with Governor Jane Swift (R), voted 5-3 to bring before the state Supreme Court the question of the legitimacy and constitutionality of Swift maintaining her role as governor while hospitalized for complications with her pregnancy. Specifically the panel, made up entirely of democrats, […]
Despite the promise of a veto by Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (I), the Minnesota House passed a health and human services spending bill that contained a 24-hour mandatory waiting period provision that would require women to wait a full day before receiving an abortion. The spending bill contained several other anti-family planning, anti-abortion measures including […]
Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a bill last weekend that expands the state’s current hate crimes law to specify that crimes committed because of the victim’s “race, religion, color, sex, disability, sexual preference, age or national origin” will result in stiffer penalties than other crimes. Two years ago, the Texas State Senate rejected the James […]
Last weekend, the Woman’s National Democratic Club awarded former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright with the Democratic Woman of the Year Award. Albright was the first woman to hold the position. During the ceremony, Albright reflected on her own career in U.S. public policy and expressed her disappointment in President Bush’s decision to reinstated the […]
Representative Constance Morella (R-MD) and 31 cosponsors today introduced a bill that could potentially refocus the federal government’s perspective on women. The Women’s Health Office Act of 2001 would establish women’s health offices in 5 federal agencies–the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Health Care […]
A London study printed in The Lancet medical journal shows regular gynecological screenings could reduce the number or cases of cervical cancer by allowing doctors the opportunity to detect cervical abnormalities at an earlier stage. Early screening programs in London have cut the number of cases of particular types of cervical cancer by as much […]
Heads were nodding at the United Nations last June during an all-night session of the review of the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference. Then, the few delegates and observers who were still awake were startled to hear a proposal from the Philippine government to include the word “herstories” in the meeting’s official document. There was a […]
The House of Representatives is currently debating House Foreign Relations Authorization Bill 1646 that includes Rep. Barbara Lee’s amendment that would overturn the Mexico City Policy, or “Global Gag Rule,” which President Bush reinstated as his first act in office. The “Gag Rule” prohibits recipients of U.S. international family planning assistance from counseling women on […]
The temperature in the treeless refugee camp in Jalozai, Pakistan, peaks around 108 most days; shade and water are scarce, resulting in dozens of people, mostly children, dying every day due to starvation and dehydration. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been forced out of their homes because of the brutal fighting brought on by […]
Nancy Yanofsky, president of the ProChoice Resource Center, is filing a lawsuit against the creators of an anti-abortion website, alleging trademark infringement of the www.ProChoiceResource.org website. Yanofsky discovered the infringement when she entered “.com” instead of “.org” at the end of her organization’s website address. The “.com” version of the ProChoice Resource Center site redirects […]
A Canadian study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows a new hormonal contraceptive skin patch may be easier to use than the daily oral birth control pill. The 7-day patches are worn for three consecutive weeks, followed by one patch-free week, compared to the daily dose of the oral contraceptive. The […]
The United States has submitted a request to France’s Justice Ministry for the extradition of James Charles Kopp, the anti-abortion extremist charged with the 1998 assassination of obstetrician and abortion provider Barnett A. Slepian. Kopp faces state and federal charges of murder as well as penalties for violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic […]
