“The Women’s Equality Act, which I will introduce today, is designed to address gender inequality in our communities, and to restore New York as a leader in women’s rights.”
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New Study Finds Women Denied Abortion More Likely to Be in Poverty
A recent study conducted by UC San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) found that women who are denied an abortion in the United States are three times more likely to be under the federal poverty line. Of 956 women who sought abortion care, the study found that 65% of “turnaways” (women who […]
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UPDATE: Irish Leaders Affirm Need to Clarify Abortion Laws
Today, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore urged the Irish Parliament to clarify the restrictive abortion laws that lead to the death of Indian national Savita Halappanavar in Ireland last month. “It is time to bring legal clarity to the issue,” he said. “Although we will not know the full details until the investigation has […]
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Planned Parenthood Challenges Texas Ruling to Defund Abortion Affiliates
After a federal appeals court rejected Planned Parenthood’s challenge to a ban on government funding for the state’s women’s health clinics on Friday, Planned Parenthood immediately filed another lawsuit contesting the ban. In the new lawsuit, Planned Parenthood argues that the “Affiliate Ban Rule” is illegal on the grounds that the appeals court ruling has […]
Make your voice heard on clinic regulations in Richmond this Friday!
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sent the new rules for women’s health centers back to the Board of Health. Make your voice heard at the September 14 meeting! On June 15, the Virginia Board of Health voted to amend a key provision of the proposed permanent regulations for women’s health centers– the amendment means that existing […]
Here We Go Again: Personhood Returns to Colorado
Update 9/12/2012:Colorado Personhood Will Not Appear on November 2012 Ballot Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced today that the Colorado Personhood Coalition has missed the Monday deadline for ballot certification for the “Personhood” Amendment to appear on the November 2012 ballot. On August 29, Gessler determined that the amendment did not have enough valid […]
Standing Up for Charlotte Clinics
Anti-abortion extremist groups – Operation Rescue and Operation Rescue/Operation Save America (OSA) – are out in force in Charlotte, North Carolina. But dozens of pro-choice supporters outnumbered their ranks on Saturday, the first day of the anti-abortion extremists national week-long siege targeting Charlotte clinics.
The House Will Vote on Bill to Criminalize Apparent Sex-Selective Abortions in U.S.
UPDATE: The House rejected this bill. Debate began in the House of Representatives yesterday on H.R. 3541, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA). The bill, sponsored by Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ), would impose fines or imprison doctors who perform desired abortions due to the fetus’s gender and bar federal funding for organizations that do not comply. […]
Mandating Rape in Virginia
The new definition of rape, just approved by the FBI for the Uniform Crime Report is: “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” A bill passed by the Republican controlled Virginia […]
It’s Trust Women Week—Join the Online March
2011 brought an unprecedented assault by anti-abortion and anti-contraception state legislatures on women’s reproductive health—135 reproductive rights laws were enacted in 36 states, 68 percent of which restrict access to abortion. Reproductive-rights groups are fighting back with a simple but powerful pro-choice message: Trust women. The Silver Ribbon Campaign to Trust Women, a coalition of 42 […]
In Mississippi, and in Every State, We ARE a Pro-Choice, Pro-Birth Control Nation
By duVergne Gaines I just returned from the front lines in Mississippi, where students on campuses across the state united and mobilized to defeat the so-called “personhood” amendment. In the beginning, many political pundits made it sound as though Initiative 26 was a fait accompli. From the day I landed in Jackson to stay […]
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HERvotes Takes On the Mississippi “Personhood” Amendment
Welcome to the fourth #HERVotes Blog Carnival! This time, we’re writing with an especially urgent focus. There’s an extremely dangerous constitutional amendment to the Mississippi state constitution on the November 8th ballot. It grants personhood and constitutional rights to a fertilized egg. Election day is just one week away. We must stop the outrageous movement […]
The Staggering Facts of Seven Billion
We humans mark a milestone today—the world’s population reaches 7 billion. When I was born there were about 2.2 billion people on earth. When my assistant was born there were a little more than 5 billion people on earth. It took just 12 years to go from 6 billion to 7. As the population climbs […]
Let(ting) Her Die is NOT an Option
“I was pregnant, I was miscarrying, I was bleeding. If I had to go from one hospital to the next trying to find one emergency room that would take me in, who knows if I would even be here today. What my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to do is […]
Lawsuit Filed in Over North Carolina Ultrasound Law
On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in conjunction with Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, filed a lawsuit against a new North Carolina law that requires pregnant women to receive ultrasounds and be given information about […]
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Kansas Law Prohibiting Abortion Coverage
US Senior District Judge Wesley Brown denied the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) motion to block a Kansas law that prohibits private health insurance plans from covering abortion services, except when the woman’s life is endangered. Under the law, women who seek coverage for abortion services must purchase a separate rider to cover non-lifesaving abortions. […]
Virginia Adopts Strictest Regulations on Abortion Providers in Nation
The Virginia Board of Health voted Thursday 12-1 to adopt unnecessary and punitive regulations of first-trimester abortion clinics requiring architectural renovations to change clinics into hospitals and change government oversight. Under the regulations, state authorities can enter a clinic to inspect at any time without notice to examine patient medical records, gather a list of […]
Hundreds Gather to Protest VA’s Anti-Abortion TRAP laws
By Campus Organizer Sarah Shanks. This post was originally posted on the Feminist Campus Blog. In Virginia, abortion clinics might begin closing at an alarming rate due to legislation requiring they be regulated like hospitals. In March, Governor McDonnell signed SB 924, a bill that classifies women’s health centers in the state as a category […]
Think You’re Covered? Think Again
By Alicia Gay, ACLU If you were faced with the decision of having an abortion, would your health insurance cover it? This is a question that many women have probably never considered. It’s a health care procedure that most people just don’t plan ahead for. Well, if you happen to be covered under your employer’s […]
A Reprieve in South Dakota; Bad News Everywhere Else
By Kari Paul In a challenging time for reproductive rights in the U.S., it’s a relief to occasionally read a bit of good news. So here it is: Late last week, a federal court blocked South Dakota’s new anti-choice law, which would have required women to wait 72 hours–the longest, most extreme waiting period in […]
