Nearly 100 United Methodist Church ministers defied their Church’s ban on gay and lesbian weddings by blessing the union of a lesbian couple at a convention hall in Sacramento, CA on Saturday. Still more ministers could not attend the ceremony, but signed petitions of support for the right of gays and lesbians to marry. Over […]
The National Network of Women’s Refuges (NNWR) reported that the number of Irish women and children fleeing from violence men increased to 4,654 last year a 35% increase from 1997. In addition, Irish women placed over 15,000 distress calls to the country’s 15 refuges. NNWR national coordinator Margaret Costello commented, “It is just not acceptable […]
A report issued by the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights League (NARAL) reveals that women have fewer reproductive choices now than they had 26 years ago. The report contends that anti-abortion laws have quadrupled in the past three years, with 62 new anti-abortion laws enacted during 1998 alone. NARAL President Kate Michelman noted that the […]
The government of Senegal officially ended the practice of female genital mutilation on Wednesday, thanks to years of struggle by women’s rights activists, educators, doctors, and politicians. Violators of the new ban will face a maximum prison term of 5 years. Last February, Senegal President Abdou Diouf called for an end to female genital mutilation, […]
A panel committee of the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine has released a report urging research on the health needs of lesbians. The Institute of Medicine began studying lesbian health on behalf of the U.S. government. Committee chair Ann Burgess wrote, “During the last several decades the unique health needs of a subgroup […]
President Clinton has announced his support of a $2 billion, 5-year program that was crafted to help the nation’s disabled return to work. The package of health care coverage, tax credits, and improved rehabilitation services will be introduced next week by co-sponsors Senators James Jeffords (R-VT) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). In a public statement, Kennedy […]
Prudential has been named in ten separate lawsuits alleging discrimination based on sex, race, and age in its Minneapolis-area offices during 1995 and 1996. Seven of the 10 plaintiffs are men, some of whom charge discrimination based on race or age. Several others have filed sex discrimination suits, claiming that they were retaliated against when […]
Three lawsuits together will seek more than $1 billion dollars for horrendous human rights abuses suffered by garment workers in Saipan. Two of the suits were class action suits filed in Los Angeles and the U.S. territory of Saipan. Saipan is a 13-mile-long island in the Northern Marianas where plaintiffs charge that hundreds of thousands […]
A new study conducted by the renowned Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN and published in the New England Journal of Medicine is thought by many to be the most comprehensive and reliable information ever released on the effectiveness of preventive mastectomy surgery. Dr. Patrick Borgen, chief of breast surgery at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer […]
United Airlines has spent over two years trying to overturn San Francisco’s domestic partners ordinance, a law which requires companies doing business with the city to extend full benefits to the domestic partners of its non-married employees, including gay and lesbian partners. United has contended that it is bound by federal mandates alone and thus […]
Women in 20 states are calling for paid medical and maternity leave, improved job training, increased pay and better funding for women entrepreneurs as part of the “Challenge to Secure America’s Economic Future” program, sponsored today by the Center for Policy Alternatives. The program is taking place in statehouses in Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Maine, Washington, […]
The Physician Compensation and Production survey found that women doctors still earn significantly less than do male doctors. Women’s pay trailed men’s by tens of thousands, and by more than $100,000 per year in some lucrative, specialized fields. The survey, conducted each year by the Medical Group Management Association, is based on responses from 36,000 […]
DeVry Institute of Technology will host a educational program for high school teachers titled, “Women in Technology” on January 15. The program’s goal is to increase the number of women in high-technology fields by instructing teachers on how they can encourage girls to pursue information technology as a career. Speakers from Hewlett-Packard, Chase Manhattan Bank, […]
The Chinese government has repeatedly and systematically violated the human rights of Tibetan women. Human rights groups have documented cases in which Tibetan women have been sterilized or forced to use contraception against their will, made to undergo abortions, fined or fired from their jobs for exceeding childbirth quotas set by the government, jailed for […]
A new small, translucent, and water resistant estrogen patch that can be worn while bathing has been approved by the FDA and will be available for sale in the U.S. by mid-year. Noven Pharmaceuticals will produce the nickel-sized patch in four different dosages for the treatment of several menopause-related symptoms.
Atlantic-ACM Chief Executive Officer Dr. Judy Reed Smith and MultiMedia Publishing Corp. Vice President of Marketing Ilene Kaminsky have founded an new organization that they hope will serve as a public forum for women professionals in the telecommunications industry. The Telecom Business Women’s Association will soon produce a Web site and newsletter that will give […]
Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, who last year offered $1 million for proof that members of Congress have engaged in adulterous sexual affairs, has revealed the sexual indiscretions of yet another victim. Flynt says he launched this campaign to reveal the “hypocrisy” of impeachment proceedings against Clinton. Last year, Rep. Bob Livingston (Rep.-LA) gave up his […]
An anti-malarial drug called quinacrine which has also been used to sterilize women there was banned by the government. Women’s rights activists in India led the campaign to ban the import, manufacture, sale and distribution of contraceptive pellets made of quinacrine, charging that the World Health Organization says the drug has not been proven safe […]
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected, without comment, two former U.S. military service member’s claims that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy violated their right to free speech. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy forbids military officials from asking about a service member’s sexual orientation, but allows those officers to discharge military service members who do […]
As part of his fiscal 2000 budget, President Clinton has proposed a $44 million, 5-year project to help small businesses provide health insurance for their workers. The program would apply to businesses with under 50 workers that did not provide health insurance to employees in 1997 and 1998. Companies that purchase health insurance through non-profit […]
