On Thursday, 126 women’s groups presented a letter to the Vatican questioning its attitude towards a population control plan agreed upon in Cairo five years ago. This plan focuses on sex education, safe abortions, and contraceptive advice. Essentially, the goal is to better educate women on reproductive issues and choices that will better enable them […]
The Senate voted 51-47 on Thursday to continue to forbid insurance coverage of federal workers’ abortions. This decision was included in the bill financing the Treasury Department’s $27.7 billion budget. This ban would not apply to women who are raped, sexually abused, or in danger of losing their lives due to a pregnancy. The author […]
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that prohibits non-parental adults from helping minors obtain an abortion out of state, bypassing parental consent laws in the minor’s home state. This law would not punish the girls seeking an abortion, but punishes adults with up to one year in jail. Comparable legislation was passes […]
Researchers from Leeds University in the UK have discovered a new technique of storing sections of ovaries that will enable young female cancer patients to have children later in life. This method, which will not be perfected for another five to ten years, entails preserving “ovarian tissue banks” that doctors can mature in a laboratory […]
On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that lesbians and gay men are de facto parents of children they raise, regardless of whether or not they are blood-related. In the specific case, judges decided that a lesbian had the right to visit the child she helped raised now that she and her partner are […]
In a study conducted by doctors at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, evidence was found that linked cervical cancer with genetic factors. This is contrary to the belief that a particular strand of the sexually transmitted disease, the human papilloma virus, causes cervical cancer. The study examined the 127,000 relatives of 71,533 women with […]
Wednesday, a Canadian court ruled 2-1 to acquit a man who was arrested in 1995 for possession of pornographic material involving young boys, arguing that Canada’s restriction on the possession of child pornography is unconstitutional. Justice Mary Southin stated that “In my opinion, the detrimental effects substantially outweigh the salutary effects; the intrusion into freedom […]
On Tuesday, United Nations officials representing 180 countries remained divided on how contraception and sex education might be used to control world population growth. Representatives of the Catholic Church and several third world Muslim countries indicated that they were strongly opposed to instituting policies promoting family planning and sex-ed in schools and other public environments. […]
Ever since insurance companies began offering coverage for the anti-impotency drug Viagra, women’s groups have worked harder than ever to win insurance coverage for contraceptive devices and are winning considerable support from many state and federal lawmakers. The sponsor of contraceptive coverage legislation in California, Sen. Jackie Speier, commented that “the little blue pill (Viagra) […]
This past Saturday, 14-year old Valencia Farmer was found gang raped, stabbed 42 times, and with her throat slashed on the doorstep where she had been left to die. Enraged by this horrendous crime, South Africans destroyed the house and protested at the courthouse where the suspects were held. Two men have been arrested and […]
GOP pollster Frank Lutz recently predicted that the race between Hilary Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani for the New York Senate will be much closer than was originally expected. According to his poll, this race has the deepest gender gap that has been recorded in recent years, with the large majority of women supporting Clinton, and […]
The United States Supreme Court in a razor thin 5-4 vote this morning struck down the Nebraska abortion ban. “The narrowness of this vote shows the importance of the upcoming presidential election. The fate of abortion rights for American women in this country for the next 25 years hinges on the outcome of the presidential […]
After 22 years of litigation and 15 years after a judge’s ruling that the Voice of America (VOA) — part of the U.S. Information Agency — was guilty of sexual discrimination, eight women have finally received compensation. Each woman was paid approximately $485,000 in the largest gender discrimination suit ever against the U.S. government. Originally, […]
According to the International Socialist Women’s organization, Senegal is the nation that has addressed the most women’s issues this decade. At a two-day conference, the group applauded Senegal’s efforts to improve women’s status and cited their commitment to initiatives and policies designed to further women’s equality. Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, Senegal’s Family Minister, commented, “We can […]
In a study conducted by the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and New York City, researchers found that gay men living in the City have reduced their levels of risky sexual behavior. They have also discovered that the number of gay men infected with AIDS has significantly decreased since the mid-1980s. The study surveyed 7,650 gay […]
The Taiwan military will most likely punish 18 soldiers and court-martial seven others for the rape and murder of a young schoolgirl at Taipei’s armed forces museum. This decision comes on the heels of criticism by Minister Tang Fei that the military “must swiftly reassert discipline and repair its damaged reputation.” The young girl was […]
Researchers have invented a new fertility method that will allow women in their late thirties and early forties a better chance of delivering a healthy baby. The technique uses “super embryos” that can be screened to ensure high quality before they are implanted into a woman by her doctor. The results were reported at the […]
Several days a week, the abortion clinic in El Monte, California, is targeted by anti-abortion protesters. The extremists videotape, rally, and harass women entering the clinic. The El Monte clinic is one of the few clinics in the state that continues to face regular hostility from protesters. Kathy Spillar, the national coordinator of the Feminist […]
After assurances of security protection from the Taliban, the International Red Cross reinstated its operations in the war torn nation. This decision comes after ten Red Cross staff were abducted, robbed, and beaten by members of the Taliban. While waiting for security guarantees from the Taliban, the Red Cross almost fully ceased its operations, which […]
After a three-day conference at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, experts conclude that hormone replacement treatment (HRT) greatly improves the lives of women tolerating menopausal symptoms such as fatigue, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, depression, skin changes, and urogenital atrophy. They also decided that HRT reduces the risks of cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, […]
