Last Thursday, Whole Woman’s Health, an abortion clinic located in North Austin, Texas, closed its doors after a faith-based pregnancy center, Austin LifeCare, bought out their lease in an attempt to prevent abortion access. This is the second time an organization has tried to buy their lease out from under them, but previously Whole Women’s […]
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New Jersey Governor Murphy Signs Bill to Increase Paid Family Leave
Tuesday, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law legislation that will greatly expand paid family leave in New Jersey, doubling the amount of paid time possible for workers. The bill was heavily supported by Democrats in the legislature who have been focused on increasing protections for working families. This bill, NJ S2528 (18R), includes paid family […]
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FMF Supported Documentary “Period. End of Sentence.” Wins Oscar for Best Short Documentary
The documentary short, “Period. End of Sentence.”, which tells the story of women in a small village outside Delhi, India who are leading a quiet revolution against the deeply rooted stigma surrounding menstruation, won an Oscar for Best Documentary – Short Subject on Sunday night at the 91st Academy Awards.
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Major Companies and Brands Pull YouTube Ads After Child Exploitation Claims
Several brands and companies, such as Nestle and Disney, have pulled their advertisements from YouTube amid claims of the platform being used as a “soft-core pedophilia ring,” where pedophiles traded information and exploited videos featuring young girls. The videos seem appropriate, featuring girls doing gymnastics or playing with toys, but users have made suggestive comments […]
Sima Samar: Afghan Women Should be a Part of Peace Talks
The chairwomen of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Sima Samar, stated that she supports women being a part of the Afghanistan peace talks. Samar presented on the role of women in securing peace at the “Women’s role in ensuring justice and human rights” Conference in Kabul. Samar pointed out the fear that many women […]
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Mass Shooting in Aurora, Illinois Manufacturing Warehouse
Last Friday, there was a mass shooting at a manufacturing warehouse in Aurora, Illinois. The gunman began shooting at his coworkers when he was being fired at a meeting with managers—he killed five of his coworkers and injured several police officers. Those killed were Trevor Wehner, an intern on his first day and senior at […]
Iowa State Will Not Seek Appeal to Fetal Heartbeat Court Ruling
Governor Reynolds of Iowa stated Monday that the government will not seek an appeal after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the “fetal heartbeat” law passed last May was unconstitutional. This unconstitutional law, if had it gone into effect, would have been one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the United States. Those against […]
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Trump Announces State of Emergency for Border Wall Funds
This morning, President Trump announced that he will declare a national emergency over the nonexistent “border crisis” in an attempt to secure up to 8 billion dollars in emergency funds to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In a press conference this morning, Trump announced that he “can do the wall over a longer […]
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Virginia ERA Advocates Rally In Support of Rule Change
On Thursday, prior to first readings of the rule changes set forth by Virginia Delegate Hala Ayala (D-Prince William) and Delegate Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), a rally in support of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was held on the steps of Virginia’s Capitol. Advocates heard from local and national speakers on the importance of the ERA, […]
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Anti-LGBTQ+ West Virginia Delegate Called To Resign
This week, Delegate Eric Porterfield (WV-27) is facing numerous calls for his resignation after he compared the LGBTQ+ community and gay activists to the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist group, and called the LGBTQ+ community a “terrorist group.” Despite criticism and backlash for his homophobic comments, he refuses to resign. These comments were […]
Employers to be Held Accountable For Workplace Sexual Rumors
Last Friday, the Fourth Circuit of Appeals unanimously reversed a district court’s ruling on Parker v. Reema Consulting Services, Inc.; the panel explained that the rumors involving a female employee having sexual relations with her male boss to obtain a promotion or special treatment make her employer liable under the Title VII for sex discrimination. […]
Maria Ressa, CEO of Philippine News Site Critical of President Rodrigo Duterte, Arrested
Maria Ressa, an outspoken critic of Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte, who has previously threatened reporters, was arrested Wednesday with “cyber libel” charges against her news site, Rappler. The charges were in relation to a Rappler report that connected a former judge in the Philippines’ top court to a businessman involved in human trafficking and illegal […]
Dr. Mags Portman, Leading Pioneer of PrEP, Dies at 44
Dr. Mags Portman, a leading pioneer of PrEP in the United Kingdom and Europe, passed away this week at 44 years old after a battle with cancer. Dr. Portman was a leading advocate for PrEP before the NHS made the life-saving medication readily available and worked to increase access for PrEP, preventing thousands from becoming […]
Violence Against Native American Women
Savanna’s Act, a bill that calls for the standardization of protocols for law enforcement agencies and for updating data for federal databases relevant to missing or murdered Native American women, was re-introduced to the floor on Monday by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. Savanna’s Act is named in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a pregnant Spirit Lake […]
Denver Teachers Strike Heads into its Second Day
Today is the second day of the Denver public teacher strike for higher wages, instead of the “unpredictable bonuses” they receive each year, and more than half of all Denver public school teachers are participating in what is the first Denver teacher strike in 25 years. Hundreds of central office staff members and substitute teachers […]
Congressional Negotiators Prepare Offer to Prevent Government Shutdown
On Monday, Congressional negotiators came to an “agreement in principle” on a spending bill to prevent another government shutdown from occurring Friday that includes an offer of $1.375 billion for 55 miles of new border fencing to satisfy President Trump’s demand for a border wall. Once the text of the actual spending bill is complete, […]
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California Governor Rescinds National Guard Troops from Southern Border
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his decision to withdraw National Guard troops from the southern border with Mexico, against Trump’s request for troops from border states, stating that “the border ‘emergency’ is a manufactured crisis and California will not be part of this political theater.” Currently, California has 360 troops at the southern border at […]
Trump Administration Proposes New Rule to Restrict Abortion Coverage
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), proposed a new abortion restriction under the Affordable Care Act in their “2020 Payment Notice” that is meant to deter insurers from covering abortion services, requiring insurance companies that have plans covering non-Hyde abortions to […]
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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam Refusing to Resign Despite Backlash
On Monday, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, in a TV interview, stated that he will not be resigning after a picture of him in black face surfaced, despite the backlash he has received, and promised to use his platform as governor to help Virginia “heal.” Angered Americans have made numerous calls for Northam’s resignation, but Northam […]
Supreme Court puts Temporary hold on Louisiana Anti-abortion Law
Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled in favor of placing a temporary hold on Louisiana’s abortion law which requires abortion providers to have hospital privileges at a local hospital. In a tight ruling, 5-4, the Supreme Court set the block in place for a week. This is, however, only a small victory for abortion advocates as […]