News

Dr. Garson Romalis, an abortion provider in Vancouver, British Columbia, was stabbed yesterday outside his medical office. Dr. Romalis suffered a near-fatal shooting in 1994. James Kopp is being sought both for that shooting and the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian in 1998. Vancouver police are urging abortion service providers to go on “high alert,” […]

In a vote of 416 to 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution “objecting to” the See Change Campaign, led by Catholics for a Free Choice, that aims to change the status of the Holy See at the United Nations. Since 1964, the Vatican has held “permanent observer” status in the U.N., […]

A push by antiabortion groups to impose new state health and safety laws on women’s clinics comes neatly packaged as concern for women’s welfare. Pro-choice groups have dubbed them TRAP (Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers) laws, charging that such regulations are no more than an underhanded attack on a woman’s right to choose. Gloria Feldt, […]

On July 10, by a close vote of 187-182, the House quickly voted down Rep. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) amendment to the Agricultural appropriations bill that would have prohibited the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from testing, developing or approving drugs that induce abortion. This is a timely victory for the pro-choice movement, as final FDA […]

Following the recent US Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Nebraska abortion ban, U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin handed down a permanent injunction last week that forbids enforcement of a similar West Virginia law. Judge Goodwin said the law was too broad and could outlaw all abortions. The 1998 West Virginia law carried […]

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government has arrested an American relief worker, 72 year-old Mary MacMakin, in an apparent crackdown on organizations that violate the Taliban’s strict gender apartheid policies by employing Afghan women. MacMakin runs an organization called Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support of Afghan Women (PARSA) that teaches practical farming and crafts skills to Afghan widows. […]

President Clinton commuted the prison sentences of four women who received significantly harsher sentences than their male counterparts in recent drug related convictions. Each of the women had been sentenced to far more severe sentences than their husbands or boyfriends and the president felt they had served a “disproportionate amount of time.” In one case […]

Maj. Gen. Larry G. Smith, who was accused of sexually harassing the highest-ranking woman in the United States Army will retire September 1 with a reprimand. Lt. Gen. Claudia J. Kennedy alleged that Smith harassed her in a Pentagon office in 1996 and in a report released this week, investigators concluded that Smith “grabbed her, […]

The Catholic Church in Washington, DC is protesting a proposed bill that would require health care insurers to cover prescribed contraceptives. The bill would allow women rather than their insurers to determine what health services they can use and it also would provide for mandated coverage of most contraceptives. A request from the auxiliary bishop […]

Gore says his 10-year, $339 billion proposal to strengthen Medicare will benefit “every woman in the land.” The proposal, which notes that one-third of women on Medicare lack prescription drug coverage as well as having overall higher health costs, includes the addition of a prescription drug benefit that will ensure women affordable prescription medication. The […]

In San Diego, George W. Bush met privately with representatives of the Catholic Health Association of the United States to discuss healthcare reform. Governor Bush and the Catholic healthcare leaders discussed their mutual agreement on an anti-abortion platform and the potential of passing regulatory and legislative protection to ensure that Catholic health facilities, providers, and […]

After working for more than a year to gain investigational status of mifepristone in Canada, Dr. Ellen Wiebe of Vancouver has finally been approved to begin Canada’s first clinical trial of mifepristone. The study will be conducted at four research centers in Vancouver, Toronto, Quebec City and Sherbrooke despite continued problems getting proper funding. Mifepristone […]

Citing the absence of clemency procedures and concerns about racial and geographic disparities in death penalty cases, President Clinton is planning to postpone what was to be the first federal execution in almost 40 years. The Justice Department is compiling a report that will try to determine if members of racial minorities or individuals in […]