The University of Southern California (USC) currently classifies sexual assaults on campus as “injury response,” preventing the Los Angeles Police Department from being notified of the attack.
Honor Killing Leaves Unease About Future of Afghan Women’s Rights
A Mullah has issued fatwa, or religious edict, for the execution of a woman named Halima who has been in hiding since April. Abdul Ghafoor ordered her father to shoot Halima in front of the villagers. According to Tolo News, Halima was accused of her illicit relationship with a man in Kokchail Village of Badghis province. Ghafoor handed over a gun to Halima’s father and asked him to kill his 20-year old daughter in front of the public.
More than Abortion: What We Lose When Clinics Shut Down
Make no mistake: though headlines focus narrowly on only the abortion care provided at these clinics, the regulation of health centers means we’re losing much more than one procedure.
Restrictive Abortion Law Temporarily Blocked in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin law that would require abortion clinic doctors to have admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles the clinic was blocked by a state judge Friday.
Leading Reproductive Rights Organizations Join Together for “31 Days of Unity”
Center for Reproductive Rights joins with reproductive rights, health, and justice organizations in August to urge Congress to take action against extreme attacks on women’s health.
Indiana Relinquishes Fight to Defund Planned Parenthood
After a legal battle that began in 2011, the state of Indiana and Planned Parenthood reached a settlement protecting Medicaid and Medicare funding for the organization.
The Catholic Church Needs Women – And They’re Not Alone
Ultimately, if we really all are created in God’s image and equal in his eyes, all must be equal in representing him as faithful servants in his church—whichever that may be.
Clear Channel Pulls Radio Ad for Women’s Clinic, Claims it is ‘Divisive’
Ads for the recently re-opened South Wind Women’s Center in Wichita, KS were recently pulled from a local radio broadcast station owned by Clear Channel citing “decency standards.”
Pro-Choice Advocates Protest Restrictive Abortion Bill in North Carolina
Abortion rights advocates in North Carolina are holding two 12-hour vigils to protest a restrictive bill that could close some abortion clinics in the state.
North Carolina Senate Passes Abortion Restrictions
The North Carolina Senate passed SB 353 Thursday in a vote of 31 to 13, moving the bill which restricts abortion from the legislature to the Governor’s desk for final approval. SB 353 is the Senate version of theHouse motorcycle safety bill that passed over a week ago. Lawmakers added abortion provisions in at the last minute in the House.
House Passes Bill Investigating Discharges of Military Sexual Assault Survivors
Yesterday the House passed an amendment to the 2014 defense appropriations bill that seeks to increase support of military sexual assault victims who have faced separation from the military based on alleged mental disorders.
Teva Pharmaceuticals Gets Exclusive Rights to OTC Emergency Contraception
With the exclusive rights for Teva, the cost-effective versions will still be denied to young girls or those who do not have government issued identification.
Federal Judge Delays Enforcement of Alabama Abortion Law
US District Judge Myron Thompson has delayed the implementation of an Alabama law that would severely limit access to abortion services from August 2013 to March 24, 2014. The law, which mandates abortion clinics conform to the same standards as ambulatory care centers and requires doctors to attain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, would eliminate three out of the five clinics in Alabama currently offering abortion services.
New All-Women Jirga in Pakistan Takes Steps Toward Equality
In Pakistan, the rights of fundamentalists surpass the rights of women.
Federal Judge Blocks North Dakota Six Week Abortion Ban
Yesterday a federal judge placed a temporary block on North Dakota’s ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Signed into law in March, the abortion law in North Dakota bans the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can usually be found around the six-week mark. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland said that North Dakota’s abortion ban, which is the nation’s earliest ban, is “clearly invalid and unconstitutional.”
USC Under Investigation for Mishandling Sexual Assault Cases
The United States Department of Education (DOE) has opened an investigation into the mishandling of sexual assault cases by the University of Southern California (USC) and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating the schools under Title IX, a law that bans discrimination on the basis of gender, and the Clery Act, which requires cases of sexual assault to be reported to the DOE.
Pregnancy Pricetags, Impossible Choices: Women in the US Are Between A Rock and a Hard Place
When women get pregnant in America, they pay more and die more than women in other industrialized nations.
Hobby Lobby Win Injunction Against Birth Control Mandate
After receiving a temporary injunction from US District Judge Joe Heaton last week, Hobby Lobby will now be exempted from the Affordable Care Act stipulation that requires employer-based insurance plans to cover various birth control methods at no extra cost to employees until October 1, 2013.
Northern Virginia Clinic Forced to Close
NOVA Women’s Healthcare, an abortion provider that is repudiated to be the busiest clinic in Virginia, has closed its facility in Fairfax as a result of new city regulations combined with impending new Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers (TRAP laws). NOVA was one of the main abortion clinics in the Northern Virginia area, and a main provider of low-cost cancer-screenings, birth control options, and other women’s health services.
Gillibrand Gains New Bi-Partisan Support in Fight Against Military Sexual Assault
Today conservative Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY) will officially announce their support for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s provision of the National Defense Reauthorization Act that would remove cases of military sexual assault from the chain of command.