One thing that George W. Bush’s appointment to the presidency has done is infuriate a good portion of the populace. Since activism is more productive than anger, in the next few months Ms. will offer several installments of this activist guide. The guides will provide information on organizations that are working to make a difference. […]
In one paragraph in the appendix to his proposed budget, President Bush suggests eliminating contraceptive coverage for federal employees for 1.2 million female employees and their dependents covered under the federal employees health benefits plan. The provision, written by Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) in 1998, requires all of the 250 health plans serving federal employees […]
The Virginia state General Assembly is close to passing Republican-crafted redistricting plans that create new GOP seats in Northern Virginia and eliminate seats held by women legislators. The plan draws new boundaries for 100 House and 40 Senate districts, and combines the seats of many female Senators and Delegates, including Senators Leslie Byrne (D-Fairfax) and […]
On April 11, Marjorie Williams wrote a grossly inaccurate op-ed for the Washington Post entitled “This Kills Women, Do feminist groups even care?” implying women’s rights groups are unconcerned with the record high number of women smoking and dying from it. (See the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report Women & Smoking.) Williams speculates that the tobacco […]
On April 22, join the Feminist Majority Foundation and other women’s rights and abortion rights groups in Washington, D.C. for an emergency rally and action to save reproductive freedom and protect women’s access to birth control, abortion, and other reproductive health services. This summer, President Bush may have the opportunity to appoint as many as […]
A report released by the U.S. Surgeon General, entitled Women and Smoking, examined the devastating effects smoking has on women’s health, smoking trends in women, and the tobacco industry’s marketing and advertising strategies that have resulted in a record number of women using tobacco products and dying from smoking. In 1998, 22 percent of women […]
The Florida State Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging a Broward County ordinance enacted in 1999 that allows unmarried partners to receive some of the same benefits as married partners. Under the ordinance, same-sex and heterosexual unmarried couples can name their partners to make health care decisions and serve as their guardians if […]
A recent study by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics shows that black women are three times more likely than white women to die of preeclampsia or eclampsia, conditions that cause high blood pressure during pregnancy. Twenty percent of the 4,000-plus women who died during pregnancy between 1972 and 1992 died as a result […]
Some of the industry’s top musicians, including Melissa Etheridge, Sarah McLachlan, and Paula Cole, played to an impassioned sold out crowd last Friday, April 6, at the Los Angeles Rock for Choice Concert to benefit the Feminist Majority’s Campaign to Save Roe. Emceed by X-Files star Gillian Anderson, the five-hour concert raised money and awareness […]
Over the last year, one million people have fled their homes in Afghanistan to escape the brutal terrorism of the Taliban regime and to seek refuge from the worst drought to hit the country in 20 years. As many as 800,000 internal refugees seek relief within Afghanistan; thousands have crossed the border to neighboring Pakistan […]
Despite February’s political faux pas by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, the White House AIDS office will remain open and the Bush Administration has restructured the office to include staff from the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), focusing the mission of the office on the international AIDS […]
Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) took on Representative Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales this week in a fight over control of the judicial appointment process in Washington state. Cantwell and Murray want the review commission to have an equal number of Democrats and Republicans; Dunn and Gonzales are […]
A split senate will vote today on President Bush’s $1.6 trillion tax cut that may gut social programs, offer little or no tax relief for average working women, and provide only the wealthiest taxpayers with significant tax cuts. A few Senate Republicans, and nearly all Senate Democrats will vote against Bush’s proposed plan, making approval […]
During Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for the Solicitor General position in the Department of Justice, Democrats interrogated conservative ideologue nominee Theodore B. Olson regarding his anti-woman’s rights, anti-affirmative action history. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) asked Olson the pointed question, “Could it be your agenda to overturn Roe v. Wade?” Olson responded, “It is […]
The Minnesota Senate Committee on Health and Family Security rejected a bill that would have required women seeking abortions to review state-mandated materials and wait 24 hours before having the procedure. The bill would have placed onerous restrictions on women’s access to abortion, forcing them to obtain biased information, such as, “when medically accurate,” the […]
When eight-year-old Hannah Gribetz entered Movies for Kids’ third annual Kids Curator Contest, she was certain of one thing. “In Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, the prince always rescues the girl. It’s annoying. I thought girls should have an adventure this time.” Gribetz submitted the theme Girl Power! Another New Yorker, seven-year-old Rosie Hertzman, […]
If you found a cause for the downtrodden or somebody abused someplace, by God, Flo Kennedy would be there, said former New York City Mayor David Dinkins on learning that longtime feminist and civil rights activist Florynce Kennedy had died. For nearly 50 years, until the end on December 21, 2000, Flo was the quintessential […]
In a statement released by the United Nations, “Pakistan has reneged on an agreement reached last month with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to allow adequate UN relief supplies to be delivered to the 70,000 Afghan refugees in the Jalozai refugee camp.” One of the most desperate camps for Afghan refugees is located in the Pakistan […]
On International Women’s Day 2001, over one-hundred-thousand signatures, from 140 countries, were presented to the United Nations, urging the international community and governments to honor the commitments they made in Beijing in 1995. To recognize the role of women peacemakers, to include more women in peace negotiations and reconciliation processes and to ensure that women’s […]
The Dr. Laura Schlessinger television show, produced and distributed by Paramount Domestic Television, ended production on March 29 with the taping of its final episode. The cancellation of the show is the culmination of national grassroots campaigns against hate and anti-gay defamation led by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Stop […]
