The Iowa House Judiciary Committee ruled in favor of a bill opposing same-sex marriages. The law denies legal recognition of same-sex marriages obtained in another state. Anti-gay forces cite worries that traditional marriage will be devalued as reasons for the law. The University of Iowa’s student government passed their own resolution the next day supporting […]
Houston Mayor Lee Brown signed an executive order prohibiting city service and employment workers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. The order overturns a 1985 election decision that defeated an ordinance protecting gay and lesbian workers. Previously, there was no protection from discrimination in local, state or federal law. Former Mayor Jim McConn […]
Peter Howard pled guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for attempting to blow up an abortion clinic. Howard drove a pickup truck into the Family Planning Associates clinic in Bakersfield, California at night and attempted to light containers of fuel in the truck on fire. Howard was stopped by a security […]
Flip Benham, director of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue National, was sentenced to a year in jail by Lynchburg, Virginia Circuit Judge Richard Miller for organizing a religious demonstration at a public school. Benham led more than 150 Liberty University students in an anti-abortion demonstration outside E.C. Glass High School. Groups stood outside the school, […]
Two weeks after the incident was reported, authorities in Prince George County, Maryland arrested D.C. police officer Daniel Girard Coles, Jr. for second-degree rape. Coles, an eight year police veteran, is charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in his home and in his van. Coles was released on a $1,000 bond and ordered not to […]
Women’s groups in Honduras are asking Honduran men to undergo vasectomies. “After all the history of planning by women, it’s only fair that men start planning as well, and I recommend that it be through the vasectomy,” said Alba de Mejia, a leading feminist in Honduras. The Honduras government supplies the population with condoms for […]
A study reports that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. According to a study released by Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, 45 percent of women in the United States are stricken with a heart-related illness during their lives, while 35 percent die from heart disease. Diana Pettiti, director […]
Incidents of female genital mutilation are increasing in the United States. Researchers and doctors in the Denver, Colorado area report that at least 6,000 immigrants from African countries that practice genital mutilation have moved to the area. “I know of one patient where it was clear it was performed in this country,” said Dr. Terry […]
A month after women’s groups blew the whistle on a Peruvian government sterilization program, reports of women being forced or bribed to submit to tubal ligations continue. Government health workers reportedly offered gifts, including food and clothing, to poor women for undergoing tubal ligation. Those who survive the surgery are sent away with gifts of […]
Retired Cornell University Professor Alice Hanson Cook, a lifetime feminist and supporter of equal rights for working women, died February 7 at her home in Ithaca, NY. Professor Cook was 94 years old. Born in Alexandria, VA. in 1903, Cook attended Northwestern University, where she co-founded the Student Liberal League and became known as one […]
A Polk County jury awarded $80.7 million to Linda Channon, a 22-year-old former United Parcel Service worker. Channon was poked in the breast during an argument by a fellow employee. The driver was fired but then began stalking her. Channon alleged that following the incident she was treated unfairly by the company. “I had different […]
The world’s first female war correspondent, Martha Gellhorn, died at the age of 89. Gellhorn covered the Spanish civil war, Vietnam and the Arab-Israeli wars. Gellhorn witnessed the D-Day landings in Normandy, the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, and is also known for marrying author Ernest Hemingway in 1940. Gellhorn worked until […]
The United States won the gold in the first women’s ice hockey Olympic event. The US women scored 3-1 in their final game, winning all six games played during the Olympics. The win “closed the gap” on a US-Canadian rivalry. Canadian coach Shannon Miller said, “I had a feeling of joy go through my body […]
Filipino women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II are seeking a meeting with Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko in hopes of sharing their stories. The prince and princess are visiting the Philippines’ during the country’s celebration of independence. Over 200,000 Asian women were forced to work in brothels provided for Japan’s […]
Results of a new study suggest that girls who received chest radiation for childhood cancer should obtain mammograms starting as early as age 25 because they are more likely to develop breast cancer than other women. The study, published in the journal Cancer, found that women treated for cancer during childhood are 20 times more […]
The Virginia House Courts of Justice committee approved a ban on D&X abortions and a law that would require women to wait 24 hours before having an abortion. Senators have given preliminary approval to a D&X bill, and are expected to debate on the “informed consent” bill that would require abortion providers to give women […]
U.S. District Judge Charles Wolle ruled that the city of Bettendorf, Iowa cannot use zoning ordinances to block the construction of a Planned Parenthood clinic. In the third attempt by the city to stall construction of the abortion clinic, the judge also ruled that no zoning changes need to be made for construction to begin. […]
Communities in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia are giving out cellular phones to victims of domestic abuse and violence. The phones have been pre-programmed to dial 911. Programs to give out cellular phones exist in Arlington and Montgomery counties, Alexandria, Williamsburg, Lynchburg, and Virginia Beach, VA. Some phones were donated by local phone companies, but […]
Abortion foes in Portugal are attempting to do away with a bill passed by Parliament last week that legalizes abortion. A national referendum backed by the center-right Social Democratic Party and the conservative Popular party will be voted on next week. Currently, abortions can only be performed when there is a risk to the mother’s […]
Egyptian Health Minister Ismail Sallam criticized Moslem fundamentalists for opposing Egypt’s ban on female circumcision. Sallam was routinely interrupted by Moslem extremists condemning the ban during a Cairo Book Fair. Sallam replied, “Growing a beard doesn’t give you the right to issue religious decrees. It’s the mufti’s prerogative and he said that female circumcision is […]
