New technology that identifies gene activity inside tumor cells can determine what type of breast cancer a woman has, enabling doctors to choose more appropriate and effective treatments, says the National Human Genome Research Institute. The new method, called gene expression profiling, uses computers and fluorescent labels on tumor DNA to reveal whether a woman […]
In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), highlighting the danger of President Bush’s Supreme Court nominations, expected this summer. The Court ruled that state employees who have suffered job discrimination based on disability cannot sue for monetary damages under the ADA, citing the case as an issue […]
The chant “Solidarity for women worldwide” filled the air on October 17 as more than ten thousand women (and some men) demonstrated outside the United Nations in New York City. Their goal? To end poverty and violence against women. Demonstrators from more than a hundred countries hit the streets, armed with signatures of support from […]
In the first war crimes case focused solely on rape and sexual slavery, the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague convicted three former Bosnian Serb commanders of rape and torture, issuing sentences ranging from 12 to 28 years imprisonment. It is the first case of its kind to focus on sexual assault with no […]
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) and other women’s right groups have covered the situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban militia took control of the country in 1996 and imposed brutal gender apartheid on the women and girls of Afghanistan. FMF has also covered the effects of the worst drought to hit the country in 30 […]
Eighty US Nobel laureates have signed a letter to President Bush urging him not to block federal funding for research on stem cells from human embryo cells, citing the research possibilities and the cells’ potential to cure debilitating ailments like diabetes, AIDS, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Lou Gherig’s disease. Stem cells are extracted from fertility […]
A report issued by the non-profit group Global Alliance shows that workers in the Nike plants in Indonesia and other parts of Asia suffer daily physical, sexual and verbal abuse by the plant managers. Through interviews with over 4,000 Nike employees at 9 factories, researchers heard testimony about plant supervisors forcing employees to work overtime, […]
Yesterday, the Virginia Senate passed a measure that would allow pharmacists to dispense emergency contraceptives to women without a doctor’s prescription – a measure that passed the House earlier this year. The bill has broad bipartisan support, but lawmakers are still ironing out a key provision: a parental consent amendment that would require women under […]
Brandeis University’s Center on Hunger and Poverty (CHP) accused Massachusetts state officials of misleading the public in their recent study, “Life After Limits: A Study of Households Leaving Welfare between December 1998 and April 1999.” The study, released by Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), analyzed the effects of the welfare reform bill enacted in 1995, […]
In a detailed report Human Rights Watch called upon the United Nation Commissioner for Human Rights to launch an immediate, full-scale investigation into the Taliban’s summary execution of hundreds of civilians in central Afghanistan in January. Most of the civilians murdered by the Taliban were members of the Hazara ethnic group. Eyewitnesses told Human Rights […]
The Virginia Senate’s Courts of Justice Committee voted 9 to 6 to reject a feticide bill that would have given prosecutors the authority to file murder charges against anyone who injured a pregnant woman and killed the woman’s fetus. Abortion rights groups opposed the measure as a backdoor attack on abortion rights, because the language […]
Arkansas became the twentieth state to pass the 24-hour waiting period law that requires a woman to wait a period of time and receive information about abortion before she can receive abortion services. Arkansas’ version of the bill does not enforce the full 24-hour waiting period, but does require that a woman receive information “the […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a decision striking down Rhode Island’s ban on late term abortion on Monday. Thirty-one states have passed similar legislation since 1995. Of these, 21 have now been struck down as unconstitutional by federal court. The so-called “partial birth” abortion bans proliferated at the state level […]
According to the New York Times, the recent boom in women’s sports has resulted in more women in sports management, coaching positions and endorsement contracts. The advent of the W.N.B.A., the media hype of women’s soccer and women’s tennis has increased the endorsements for stars such as Chamique Holdsclaw and Mia Hamm. Venus Williams signed […]
When you challenge power, you expect consequences, says radio journalist Amy Goodman, summing up her Election-Day interview with Bill Clinton. On the morning of November 7, just after the airing of her nationally broadcast radio program Democracy Now!, Goodman answered a call from the White House. President Clinton wanted to talk with her briefly, on […]
And fellow radio journalist and columnist Laura Flanders says: “It’s important to look at the role she’s played for other reporters in the field. Young people in journalism school and just coming into the field say, ïWe want to hold the feet of those in power to the fire. We want to challenge conventional wisdom.’ […]
Pro-choice Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate have voiced their support for the Global Democracy Promotion Act of 2001, co-introduced Thursday by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT) that would overturn President Bush’s January 22 reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy, also known […]
Theodore Olson, the ultra-conservative lawyer who represented President Bush in Bush v. GoreÑthe Florida election case that ultimately gave Bush the presidencyÑhas been nominated for the position of Solicitor General in the US Justice Department. As Solicitor General, Olson would be responsible for developing the government’s position on cases and would argue many cases before […]
The Republican sponsored Bankruptcy Reform Act may reach the floors of the House and Senate as early as next week. Democrats will propose amendments that include language that would prevent individuals convicted of abortion clinic violence from discharging damage awards by declaring bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Reform Act passed in both the House and the Senate […]
The ax-wielding priest who crashed his car into the entrance of a Rockford, IL, abortion clinic pled guilty to charges of damaging property on Wednesday. Despite the violent nature of the attack, Rev. John Earl of the St. Patrick’s’ Catholic Church in Rochelle, Illinois, received a sentence of 30 months probations, two days in jailÑwith […]
