News

An American Airlines employee has filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), arguing that the company’s refusal to provide insurance coverage for contraception, Pap smear tests, and infertility treatments discriminates against women. Martina Alexander filed the complaint after she sought coverage for infertility treatments and learned that, while her insurance […]

Attorney General John Ashcroft may reassign some of the lawyers working on the federal lawsuit against the tobacco industry, and many fear this is a sign that the case will not be vigorously pursued by the Bush administration’s Justice Department. The lawsuit argues that the tobacco industry has been engaged in a 45-year deceptive campaign […]

Accusations of sexual assault and harassment against 19 male officers at the Fort Leonard Wood Marine training base in Missouri surfaced recently, bringing attention to the high number of women in the military who are victims of sexual abuse by their male counterparts or superior officers. Women make up only 3 to 5 percent of […]

Thousands of girls across the nation accompanied their parents and mentors to the workplace today in celebration of Take Our Daughters to Work Day. Intended to expose girls to careers in every field imaginable, this Ms. Foundation project teaches girls that they can enter any profession they want to, despite challenges that still block women’s […]

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court severely limited the ability of individuals to sue federally funded groups or institutions for race or national origin discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. In the past, individuals could sue such groups if their policies had a discriminatory effect – regardless of the groups’ […]

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that will significantly affect the amount of money victims of employment discrimination may receive. Former DuPont employee Sharon Pollard, who won a sexual harassment case in 1998, is suing for “front pay” – damages to replace the future earnings she lost as a result […]

Women’s rights advocates got a boost yesterday from the Institute of Medicine, a division of the National Academy of Sciences, the independent organization that provides scientific advice to the federal government. An Institute of Medicine panel, reviewing medical research programs, concluded that sex is a crucial factor in medical research and treatment, and “should be […]

A U.S. District Judge ruled last week that abortion provider Dr. Leroy Carhart was fired from the University of Nebraska Medical Center because of “his involvement in a controversial abortion lawsuit.” Carhart was involved in the most recent U.S. Supreme Court case on abortion rights, in which the Court declared Nebraska’s abortion procedure ban unconstitutional. […]

As women’s and abortion rights groups heighten their vigilance surrounding Supreme Court nominations, President George W. Bush plans to announce his first judicial nominees early next month, mostly to fill vacancies in federal district and appellate courts. The New York Times today reported a preliminary list of possible nominees – of 70 names, about 20 […]

The Supreme Court today dismissed a retaliation claim filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits retaliation against employees who complain of discrimination, including sexual harassment. The case involves a female employee who believed that a sexually explicit statement read by a supervisor during a review of applications constituted sexual harassment. […]

Our men fought the war, and they were the soldiers. But the widows, we are the warriors. No one understands what we have to go through long after the war is over. These words are spoken by Norma Banks, who appears in the 1998 film Regret to Inform, a documentary that explores the lingering devastation […]

The Emergency Action for Women’s Lives, hosted by the National Organization for Women, drew thousands of women, men, and children to Washington DC this weekend in support of abortion rights (see for yourself!). The Feminist Majority participated in the action, with over 40 Feminist Majority Leadership Alliances represented. The action included a highly successful rally, […]

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act,” a deceptively worded bill that would grant legal status to a fetus. Disguised as a measure protecting women from violent crime, the bill would make it a separate offense to harm a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus […]

The Feminist Majority Foundation and its National Clinic Access Project (NCAP) filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to “reconsider” its March 28 ruling that the web site known as the Nuremberg Files is protected under the First Amendment right to free speech. The site posts abortion providers’ addresses and […]

In a clear victory for women’s reproductive health clinics, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear an appeal by anti-abortion protestors who were claiming that the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) that protects clinics against disruptive intrusions should be interpreted instead to protect those who attempt to obstruct access to […]

This summer, as many as two U.S. Supreme Court justices could retire, giving President Bush the opportunity to fill the open seats with anti-abortion justices-a move that could lead to the overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in all 50 states. While this possibility alarms anyone who values a woman’s […]

U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess has ruled that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law can be used in the case against the Los Angeles Police Department Rampart Division, where officers have been charged with murder, perjury, cover-ups, planting false evidence, theft, assault, and rape. This is the second case in seven months […]

Real news on issues that matter to women is hard to find on the Internet, much less in a newspaper or on network news. Rita Henley Jensen and Victoria Graham, editor in chief and managing editor, of Women’s Enews, publish the groundbreaking and intelligent journalism on issues that affect women’s lives. In other words, they […]