Florida Republican Rep. Charles Canady, chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution said he plans to reintroduce legislation to do away with affirmative action for women and people of color in the federal government. After his bill won approval by his subcommittee in March, Republican leadership dropped the bill as a priority, and no […]
New Hampshire Gov. Steve Merrill’s five-member Executive Council voted unanimously to release June Briand from prison on work-release in April. Briand has served nearly 10 years in prison for fatally shooting her abusive husband. She was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, but her lawyer hoped last month’s hearing would land Briand in […]
Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Kevin Chang ruled on December 3 that the state must recognize same-sex marriages because the state government had failed to show that there was a “compelling state interest” to prohibit same-sex marriages. Chang ruled that a ban on same-sex marriages violates the state’s constitution, making Hawaii the first state to recognize […]
Women’s groups are pushing the Clinton administration to diversify the Clinton cabinet and appoint women to key spots including one of several vacancies in national security positions. Women’s rights leaders are waiting to see if U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright will be named the first woman secretary of state. Clinton has said less about appointing women […]
A coalition of civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, announced that it would ask U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson on December 5 to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the University of California from implementing Proposition 209, the passed constitutional amendment that seeks to outlaw affirmative action programs and to gut […]
Dow Corning, once a leading manufacturer of silicone breast implants, is now under intense scrutiny from women concerning a settlement award issued December 2, offering breast implant recipients compensation for related medical problems associated with the implant procedure. Dow Corning had been a supplier of breast implants since 1964 until questions were raised concerning the […]
At an annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America on December 2, studies were released that show annual breast screenings for women over the age of 40 are both recommended and necessary. Conducted by Dr. Stephen Feig, director of breast imaging at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, the studies address an […]
A ban passed in Egypt on female genital mutilation (FGM) in July of 1996, has yet to take affect in most Egyptian cities. FGM, the partial or complete removal of a woman’s clitoris or external genitals, is widely practiced in many sub-Saharan African nations as well as in Egypt. After complications FGM caused the July […]
Implementation of Proposition 209, the amendment to the California constitution that prohibits affirmative action in public employment, education, and contracting, has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Chief U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson issued a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit against Proposition 209 brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of […]
The Supreme Court rejected without comment the appeal of an anti-abortion protester who claimed she was wrongly denied a jury trial for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. In rejecting the appeal Monday, December 2, the Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling by a federal judge who sentenced Marilyn Hatch with 30 […]
For the first time, a Japanese court has found a Japanese employer guilty of sex discrimination for denying women promotions. The Tokyo District Court ordered the Shiba Shinyo credit union to pay 12 women employees almost $900,000 and to promote eleven of them to management positions. One of the women has already retired. The twelve […]
Shannon Lucid, who spent a record 188 days in space on the Russian space station Mir, became the first woman to be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. President Clinton awarded her the medal in an Oval Office ceremony. Lucid set the American record for the longest time spent in space, as well as […]
John Salvi, who was convicted of killing two abortion clinic receptionists in December 1994, was found dead in his maximum-security prison cell on November 29. Authorities believe he committed suicide. He was found with a plastic bag tied around his head. Salvi was serving two life sentences without parole. At his trial, his court-appointed lawyer […]
On Monday (4-8), Georgia Attorney General Michael Bowers sent an unsolicited letter to University System Chancellor Stephen Portch directing him to eliminate affirmative action programs for minorities at each state college and university. One of the missions of the university system is to make public colleges accessible to minorities, Portch said in a statement. “We […]
Association For Women Journalists Releases Survey: “Washington Reporters’ Experiences And Perceptions: Does Gender Matter?” By FMF Special Correspondent Francine Haber, Colorado Woman News On August 26, the opening of the Democratic National Convention, the Chicago chapter of the Association for Women Journalists released the results of its survey on differences between male and female reporters […]
On Thursday (6-27), the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague announced the indictment of eight Bosnian Serb military and police officers in connection with the rapes of Muslim women in the war in Bosnia. After two years of investigations, the announcements mark the first time sexual assault has been considered separately as a […]
Because studies on cardiovascular disease have traditionally been male-centered, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced legislation Thursday to increase spending on research on heart disease in women. The leading cause of death for women and men in the U.S., heart attacks kill 235,000 women each year, 49 percent of the 485,000 people who die from the […]
Students in Prince William County, Maryland will be denied accessibility to abortion counseling on school property next fall, and if students discuss topics like pregnancy or drug abuse with school employees, their parents will be notified. This unanimous decision was made Wednesday evening (6-26) by the Prince William School Board. The members justified their decision […]
The government reported earlier this week that the teen birth rate had declined for a third straight year. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, for teenage girls aged 15-19, the birth rate of 59.6 births per 1,000 in 1993 has dropped to 58.9 per 1,000 in 1994. However, the 1994 rate was still […]
Approximately 62,000 women between the ages of 50 – 79 have volunteered to participate in the first long-term study to seek ways to prevent health problems affecting post-menopausal women, including heart disease, colon and breast cancer, and osteoporosis. The project, which is predicted to cost $628 million, is being funded by the National Institute of […]
