An Army drill sergeant, who has been accused of sexual misconduct and who testified that he belonged to a sex ring which targeted female trainees, has pleaded guilty to reduced charges. Staff Sergeant Wayne Gamble, stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, has pleaded guilty to adultery, violating rules of socializing, engaging in sex […]
In a blow to pro-choice advocates in Poland and internationally, the Polish parliament has rejected a bid to call for referendum on whether or not to allow abortion for social reasons. Members of parliament voted 197 to 178, with 14 abstentions, against allowing the referendum to appear on the vote during the same time as […]
On Tuesday, June 24, Cairo Administrative Court Judge Abdul Aziz Hamade overturned the Health Ministry’s 1996 ban on female circumcisions. The Judge claims that the Ministry cannot forbid a practice that parliament does not consider illegal. Eight Islamic scholars and doctors challenged the decree on the grounds that it interferes with religious beliefs and physicians’ […]
Two Marine sergeants allegedly attacked a couple camping in Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest on June 21st. The couple was assaulted and the woman raped near the popular Clear Lake campsite. Sgt. Rudolph Jackson and Sgt. Clinton Bergman were arrested for the assault and arraigned on June 23rd. Bergman has served as a recruiter for […]
Human rights and civil rights activist Betty Shabazz died on June 23rd, at the age of 63, of severe burns. Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, was burned on more than 80 percent of her body during a June 1 blaze, allegedly set by her grandson, that swept through her apartment. Five skin-graft operations, performed […]
New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman (R) has vetoed a state bill that would ban the D&X late-term abortion procedure. Whitman refused to sign the bill because it did not make an exception for cases in which the woman’s health was endangered. The law exempts procedures only to save the woman’s life, apparently her health […]
This week the House and Senate will vote on budget-balancing measures which create controversy not only in financial matters but in the abortion issue as well. The bill includes the “Hyde Amendment” which would deny federal funds for abortions as part of a proposed program of health care for uninsured children age 18 and under. […]
Phyllis Hill Slater, the incoming president of the 10,000-member National Association of Women Business Owners, addressed the group’s Lexington, Kentucky chapter’s annual meeting on June 24th. Hill Slater discussed the importance of women in America’s business landscape and future. Hill Slater said that the group helps women by allowing women to network and for more […]
On Monday, the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ordered the Army to open its sexual misconduct case against Army Sgt. Maj. Gene McKinney to the news media and public. Major news organizations and the accused soldier petitioned the federal court to open the pretrial hearing, but the Army argued that allowing the […]
President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton spent Monday raising funds for California Senator Barbara Boxer and Washington Senator Patty Murray. Both women face difficult re-election races in 1998. Republican Rep. Sonny Bono may challenge Boxer, and Republican Rep. Linda Smith will run against Murray. Republican organizations have declared Murray’s state as one […]
After a declared boycott of the Walt Disney Company by the Southern Baptist Convention, plenty of Southern Baptists could be found at Walt Disney World. Kay Sanders of Daytona Beach, Florida commented, “I’m not going to boycott. It’s crazy. Kids have to be someplace, and there aren’t many places safer than Disney World. And if […]
The 150-year-old, 292,000-member American Medical Association has elected a female president for the first time in its history. Dr. Nancy W. Dickey, a family practitioner from Texas, was elected by acclamation on Sunday June 22, 1997. The year-long position pays $222,000 and holds mostly a spokeswoman role for the group’s members. Currently, Dickey is the […]
France’s traditional term for a politician, “homme politique”, which translates to political man, no longer describes the members of the National Assembly. The country’s May 25 and June 1 election results brought 63 women to France’s Parliament. Before the elections, France ranked last among the fifteen countries in the European Union in its percentage of […]
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that states can detain sexually violent predators after they have served their prison sentences, even if they are not mentally ill. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that people who are considered mentally abnormal and likely to commit new crimes can be held by the state. The […]
Faced with a Justice Department discrimination suit, the state of Arkansas decided on June 19 to hire 400 women guards in men’s prisons. In an agreement with the Justice Department, the state agreed to pay more than $20 million in back wages to women who, since 1983, did not receive jobs or promotions as prison […]
The board of Emory University decided unanimously on June 19 to prohibit same-sex commitment ceremonies involving lesbians or gay men in the university’s nondenominational chapels. The board’s chair, Bradley Currey Jr., did not find this decision inconsistent with the university’s nondiscrimination policy, which allows faculty, staff and students equal access to university resources regardless of […]
The House has voted 224-296 against the repeal of a ban on abortions at military hospitals overseas. The repeal was part of an amendment to a defense spending bill marking the second straight year a repeal has been rejected. Based on the assumption that women have access to private medical facilities overseas, abortions are prohibited […]
After voting to boycott Walt Disney Co. because of what it calls “gay-friendly” policies, the Southern Baptist Convention has condemned corporate policies that extend health-care benefits to employees’ same-sex partners. President Clinton, a Southern Baptist, responded simply “No” when asked by a reporter if he would support the Disney boycott. Another resolution adopted by the […]
The United States is just a “C” student when it comes to gender equity in education, according to the National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education. The Coalition will release a Report Card on Gender Equity on Monday, June 23, in honor of the 25th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits […]
On June 21, Saturday afternoon, when viewers tune in to NBC, they will witness the Women’s National Basketball Association’s first game. The WNBA begins its first 28-game season which will culminate in four teams advancing to single-elimination playoff games in August. With three nationally-televised games a week on ESPN, NBC, or Lifetime, the league projects […]
