Despite the efforts of the Virginia women State senators who led the battle against the 24-hour waiting period law, the bill passed and Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore (R) has promised to sign it into law, making Virginia the nineteenth state with a 24-hour waiting period law. Abortion rights supporters in the Senate have dubbed […]
Lawmakers in France passed a bill last year that will require an equal number of women and men candidates on nearly all election ballots. The new measure goes further than any other in the world to ensure equal representation of men and women in politics, and is a surprising leap forward, considering French women only […]
Two studies by the Judicial Council of California show a significant anti-gay bias in the California court system. One study showed that more than 56 percent of the 1,225 lesbian and gay men surveyed experienced some type of anti-gay comment or action in the court when their sexual orientation was disclosed. The second study surveyed […]
What follows is an account of an evening spent at Succat Hashalom, a peace tent set up in the north of Israel. The event was organized by Bat Shalom, a feminist group that brings together Palestinian and Jewish Israelis every year to celebrate peaceful coexistence. As it happened, the 2000 Succat Hashalom was held soon […]
Long aware that their fates were inextricably linked, they took on the hard work of fighting for justice and an end to oppression, both in the Occupied Territories and within the State of Israel–because there cannot be peace in one without peace in the other. Whatever the political outcome of the coming weeks and months, […]
During this critical time for reproductive rights, Leadership Alliances and feminists nationwide celebrated the 28th anniversary of Roe v Wade last week. Many groups utilized the power of pro-choice videos to educate students about the importance of choice. The Leadership Alliance at the UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO had a video showing of “Jane” and held a […]
Just because we organize on a grassroots level doesn’t mean we can’t get active on-line! The University of NorthEastern Illinois has a great website that highlights their successful voter registration last year, check out theirs and newly constructed web sites! Interested in setting up a web site for your group? No problem! Contact the Campus […]
A report released today reveals that pro-choice, women’s rights, and environmental groups helped shape the outcome of some Congressional elections with their strong get-out-the-vote efforts. Brigham Young University Professor David Magelby noted that get-out-the-vote efforts were more effective for Democratic candidates, specifically citing the mobilization of African-American, pro-choice women, and pro-labor voters. The report focuses […]
Responding to student activists and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), New York University announced an expansion of its student health insurance plan to include coverage for reproductive health care for women students. Students had signed a petition urging the university to provide coverage for prescription contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, and abortion; student groups, like […]
At a retreat for Democratic House members this weekend, George W. Bush faced tough questions about his first executive order, which reinstated the “global gag rule,” and about his new faith-based social services program. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) accused Bush of using a double standard, reinstating the global gag rule and then allowing religious organizations […]
The vote to confirm Ashcroft’s appointment as Attorney General revealed a significant gender gap within the Senate, with the majority of men in the Senate supporting Ashcroft and the overwhelming majority of women in the Senate opposing him. 63% of men senators voted to confirm Ashcroft, but only 23% of women senators supported his confirmation […]
In a private meeting with Catholic leaders that was accidentally broadcast over a White House audio system, President Bush connected his new faith-based social service initiative with anti-abortion efforts. Unaware that his remarks were heard by reporters gathered in the White House pressroom, Bush said that his faith-based plan may strengthen the argument against abortion, […]
Presidents and Provosts from 9 universities issued a statement Monday promising the institutions would work for diversity in faculty, equal compensation and resources for women, and reformation of any policies that discriminated against women with families. The statement came after a group of women professors at Massachusetts Institute of Technology produced a report detailing the […]
The patriarchal culture’s valuation of the female is based on her youthful beauty. By this measure, the older a woman becomes, the less she is valued, writes Ann Kreilkamp, founder and editor of Crone Chronicles: A Journal of Conscious Aging. “Rather than accepting our culture’s devaluation of women as they age, Crone Chronicles was founded […]
In over 15 hours of debate, many Democratic senators have announced their firm opposition Senator John Ashcroft’s nomination for the position of Attorney General, citing his record of anti-woman, anti-abortion, anti-civil rights, and anti-lesbian and gay stances. Senators who oppose Ashcroft’s nomination have expressed grave concerns regarding the contradictions between Ashcroft’s testimony and his actions […]
Two bills related to abortion and women’s reproductive health care are heading for the floors of the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates this week. The State Senate, controlled by Republicans 21 to 19, will vote on a restrictive 24-hour waiting period bill that would require women to wait 24 hours before they could receive […]
A recent Nurses Health Study by the Harvard School of Public Health shows that older women living alone are not more isolated, are not at higher risk for increased health problems, and actually performed better on measures of mental health than those living with a spouse. The study surveyed nearly 30 thousand women between the […]
By insisting on heavy regulation of the distribution of Mifeprex, the medical abortion pill, the FDA may have made it more vulnerable to anti-abortion forces. The pill was approved last October with restrictions usually reserved for “fast-track” drugs that have been sped to market because of their life-saving potential. Because fast-track drugs typically undergo less […]
Student activists have joined an unprecedented effort by women’s rights, abortion rights, civil rights, gun control, environmental and gay and lesbian rights organizations to oppose the nomination of John Ashcroft for U.S. Attorney General. Young feminist activists – high school students, college students, and interns – take to Capitol Hill today in a lobby day […]
A good executive is one that understands how to recruit people and how to delegate. So declared George W. Bush when he presented his first three cabinet nominees just after the New Year. He’s a man who makes much of teamwork. Less charitably, he depends on others–like those five Supreme Court justices and his brothers’ […]
