Florynce Kennedy, feminist pioneer and lifelong women’s rights and abortion rights activist, died last week at the age of 84. Kennedy began her fight for women’s rights when she applied to Columbia Law School and was denied admission, not because she was black, but because she was a woman. Under the threat of a lawsuit, […]
Defeated Missouri Republican Senator John Ashcroft was nominated today by G.W. Bush to be the nation’s next Attorney General, but women’s and abortion rights groups promise to protest his appointment. During a press conference yesterday, Kate Michelman, president of NARAL, called Ashcroft a “virulent opponent” of women’s reproductive rights, and said an Ashcroft Attorney Generalship […]
African-American and women leaders in the Democratic party are voicing their concerns about the party’s inattention to these key populations in party strategy and leadership nomination. Former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson hightened the debate when he announced today that he will challenge fund-raiser Terry McAuliffe’s bid for chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. Jackson sees […]
The Children’s Place, a clothing retail chain that has 365 stores in 40 states, settled today in a racial discrimination case brought by a former employee who complained that her supervisors instructed her to treat black customers with suspicion. Amanda Berube, a white employee of the Children’s Place, told the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (CAD) […]
Afghanistan was rated among the 11 worst countries in terms of democracy and human rights according to a new report by the non-partisan, moderate Freedom House. Afghanistan was listed among the 11 worst nations “in which citizens are denied a broad range of the most basic freedoms,” along with Burma, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmentistan. The […]
President-elect George W. Bush met with religious leaders yesterday to discuss his new faith-based program, which would establish a White House office of “faith-based action” and expand tax deductions and credits for charitable organizations that work with the poor and disadvantaged. Among the denominations present at the meeting were African American churches, the Baptist Church, […]
Despite much talk of inclusiveness and diversity for the George W. Bush cabinet, recent appointments, as well as the likely-appointees list, suggests that the president-elect’s cabinet may include only two women – Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, named yesterday, and EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, expected to be officially nominated soon. Yesterday, Bush officially appointed […]
The United Nations Security Council has issued an arms embargo and tightened other sanctions against the Taliban, an extremist militia that now controls 95 percent of Afghanistan. The resolution, backed by the United States and Russia, passed by a vote of 13-0 with China and Malaysia abstaining, and bars all countries from supply arms or […]
In a PBS Newshour interview with Jim Lehrer, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (SD-D) said that he would not necessarily oppose a US Supreme Court Justice nominee who supports overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion. Daschle told host Jim Lehrer that a nominee’s opposition to Roe “alone would not […]
Women’s and lesbian/gay rights groups are opposing the possible nomination of former senator Daniel Coats (R-IN) as Secretary of Defense in George W. Bush’s administration. Coats led the Republican Party in opposition to Clinton’s efforts to lift the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, and had been a leading skeptic of […]
In the early 1990s, several small studies addressed whether women who never carried a pregnancy to term—including women who had abortions—might have an increased risk of breast cancer. In 1997, when a well-regarded Danish study of 1.5 million women found no evidence that having an abortion increased one’s risk, pro-choicers breathed a sigh of relief. […]
The telecommunications company BellSouth joined the ranks of nearly 3,600 companies nationwide that offer health care benefits to gay employees’ partners. The expansion of benefits to include coverage for domestic partners is the most recent trend toward attracting employees and improving the diversity of work force. In one year, the three largest auto makers, the […]
A Republican-sponsored state parental notification bill that would require any woman under 18 to notify one parent before she received an abortion has made its way to the New Jersey Senate. This bill, if passed, would invalidate a decision by the NJ state Supreme Court, which ruled the parental notification law to be unconstitutional. Both […]
The Scottish Sunday Herald reported on December 10 that federal law enforcement officials believe that James Charles Kopp, a fugitive on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, may be in Europe. According to federal authorities quoted in that report, Kopp allegedly contacted extremist anti-abortion groups in Scotland and England. Yet on December 15, the Toronto […]
The Congressional prohibition against using federal funds to pay for abortions will affect Mifepristone. Unlike the 50 states, which can use local tax money to help low-income women pay for abortions, Congress controls the District of Columbia’s taxes and Congress prohibits the use of public funds to cover the cost of abortion. This policy applies […]
A presidential campaign laced with promises of bi-partisanship has ended and the unveiling of President-elect George W. Bush’s conservative agenda has begun. At the top of the agenda are school vouchersa program that drains funding from public schools and pours it into private, often religiously affiliated, institutions. Voucher programs have failed in the courts and […]
Despite George W. Bush’s assertions that he will be a “uniter” between Democrats and Republicans, conservative forces who backed his candidacy see Bush’s presidency as an opportunity to codify their agenda into law. Right-wing groups are already demanding ultra-conservative appointments to the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Interior, Education and Labor, and are […]
An international study suggests that a new drug called Femara may fight advanced breast cancer better than tamoxifen, the most-prescribed treatment at this time. As a result of the study, the FDA’s scientific advisors voted unanimously that Femara be approved as a first-line therapy for metastatic breast cancer _ cancer that has spread to other […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) decided Wednesday that employers that provide health insurance coverage for preventative treatments are required by law to include contraceptives in the coverage. Health plans that do not already cover preventative treatments may not be required to cover contraceptives. The debate over including contraceptives in health insurance plans erupted when […]
Exelgyn Laboratories announced today that the pharmaceutical company Contragest will distribute mifepristone, under the trade name Mifegyne, to women in Germany beginning in January 2001. This announcement comes after the original distributor opted out because of anti-abortion pressure. Mifepristone is approved as a medical alternative to surgical abortion in Germany. Globally, over 10 million women […]
