Dr. Michael Burnhill, vice president for medical affairs of Planned Parenthood since 1995, died on August 4 at a hospital near his home in New Jersey after suffering an aortic tear. Burnhill had been with Planned Parenthood since 1972, and was a pioneer in the arena of family planning, contraception, and other reproductive health services. […]
Eleven Bosnian women relayed horrifying tales of rape, torture, forced prostitution, kidnapping, and killing in a U.S. civil trial against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. The victims are seeking millions of dollars, and charge Karadzic with ordering Bosnian Serb military personnel to commit atrocities against Croats and Muslims in a genocide plot in the early […]
The National Center for Health Statistics showed that teen birth rates in the United States are the lowest they have been since 60 years ago, when these statistics were first collected. Teen births have been dropping steadily over the past decade, and in 1999, for every 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19, there were 49.6 […]
Hundreds of Mexican women protested anti-abortion legislation that passed in Mexico’s Guanajuato state, which is governed by President-elect Vicente Fox’s conservative National Action Party (PAN). The legislation, passed by the Guanajuato Congress on August 4th, criminalizes abortion even in cases of rape and where the woman’s health is endangered. Women gathered outside the headquarters of […]
Women protesters rallied in India’s capital on August 8th, urging passage of legislation that would reserve one-third of seats in parliament and state legislatures for women. “Women are no longer satisfied with the government’s assurances and promises and want action,” stated Sonia Gandhi, the main opposition Congress Party president. Gandhi has argued that the bill, […]
The Zimbabwe police is investigating claims by the Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) that war veterans abducted and sexually abused at least 10 schoolgirls. Thousands of squatters are illegally occupying white-owned farms across Zimbabwe, creating daily tension and violence that threatens the livelihood of the country’s tobacco exports. According to the CFU, which represents mostly white […]
Guatemala’s army was responsible for 92 percent of child abductions during the country’s brutal 36-year civil war, according to a recent report released by the Archdiocese of Guatemala. The 200-page report, based on information from interviews with parents and relatives of 86 children, marks an unprecedented step by the Guatemalan government to discuss the forced […]
The Clinton Administration and other members of the United Nations Security Council reported on August 7 that they are considering imposing an arms embargo against Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. These measures, including a proposed ban on international travel for senior Taliban officials, and the possible closing of Taliban offices in foreign countries, are being considered for the […]
The Republican National Convention featured women and people of color in front of the cameras, but a quick look at the floor showed that most delegates were white and male. The August 14 Democratic National Convention, to be held in Los Angeles, promises to “reflect political reality,” says Women enews, by giving a prominent place […]
Florida Circuit Judge Marc Gilner refused to issue a restraining order to protect a gay man from domestic violence. The decision has become somewhat of a trend in FL, as no county clerks have issued applications for domestic violence injunctions to lesbians and gays since the judge’s order. Gilner argued that lesbians and gays are […]
A woman in Florida last week who tried to force her 16 year-old daughter to have an abortion by pointing a gun at her stomach and threatening to pull the trigger was stopped by clinic workers at the Aware Woman Medical Center in Palm Beach, Florida. At the clinic, the young woman wrote on a […]
More than just a sporting event, the Olympic Games also offer the host country a chance to capitalize on weeks of unrelenting attention from the world’s media. It’s a time when the host country polishes its facades to a high shine to appeal to the tourist sensibilities of the millions who watch. But as the […]
Gunmen in Afghanistan shot and killed 12 people on August 5th, including seven Afghan aid workers employed at the Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation. Ravaged by decades of war, Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. There are an estimated 10 million landmines in Afghanistan. “In the capital, […]
In an effort to end forced marriages of British nationals, the British Foreign Office and Home Office have devised a multi-faceted program that will offer support to victims of forced marriage through increased outreach and law enforcement. The measures include issuing potential victims of forced marriage with pocket-sized lists of support telephone numbers and establishing […]
As a result of economic inequity, persistent discrimination, and unequal healthcare access, women are the most vulnerable to HIV infection, according to the latest UNAids report. Women in sub-Saharan Africa, who constitute 55 percent of the HIV infections, continue to struggle for access to contraceptives and education and for freedom from sexual assault, rape, and […]
Amid a wave of anti-pedophile violence, the British government refused to make public a list of convicted sex offenders but promised to protect children from abuse and molestation in other ways. Two weeks ago, Britain’s top-selling tabloid The Sunday News of the World began running photographs and whereabouts of men convicted of molesting children who […]
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush is backing a Texas court’s decision to execute a mentally retarded man convicted of raping and murdering a 24-year-old woman. Bush supports the sentence despite the fact that 13 of the 36 states with capital punishment bar the execution of the mentally retarded. In a 1989 ruling, the Supreme […]
Vice President Al Gore has selected Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman to be his running mate, confirming that the Democratic presidential ticket will remain staunchly in favor of abortion rights. During his 12 years in the U.S. Senate, Lieberman has consistently voted for a woman’s right to choose and has worked to preserve the constitutional right […]
The Taliban’s edict forbidding Afghan women from working for international and national humanitarian organizations may have a devastating impact for the millions of women and children living in poverty in Afghanistan. Before this latest edict, humanitarian aid organizations had obtained exemptions to the Taliban’s ban on women from working. With one of the worst droughts […]
Farm workers calling for higher wages and improved working conditions were joined by political, civil rights, and religious supporters in a 4.5-mile march in Washington state over the weekend. The demonstrators demanded amnesty for undocumented workers, protection for labor organizers from reprisals by employers, and higher apple-picking wages. Represented at the march were organizers from […]
