Rosa Hartford must spend a year on probation, pay a $500 fine, and perform 150 hours of community service for driving a 13-year-old Pennsylvania girl to New York for an abortion. Hartford was sentenced by Judge Brendan Vanston for interfering with the custody of a child. Hartford’s lawyer, Kathryn Kolbert of the Center for Reproductive […]
President Clinton named U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright as the new U.S. Secretary of State on Thursday, December 5. Upon receiving Senate confirmation, Albright will become the first female secretary of state. Albright was born in Czechoslovakia and moved to the U.S. with her parents at age 11 after her family was exiled during the Nazi […]
On December 6, women across Canada will commemorate the murders of 14 women engineering students at the hands of a man who opened fire at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, shouting “You’re all fucking feminists. You’re women, you’re going to be engineers. I hate feminists, I’m against feminism. That’s why I’m here.” The Canadian Women’s […]
A newly-released study done by the Birth Control Trust in London found an announcement by the UK’s Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) concerning new findings on certain oral contraception was “unnecessarily alarmist” and caused “a needless panic.” In October 1995, new information detected an extremely slight increase in risk of blood clotting for certain […]
Three Army trainers – two drill instructors and a company commander – were expected to enter a plea on charges of rape and sexual misconduct before a military judge on December 6. The men are charged with crimes including rape, sodomy, adultery, obstruction of justice, fraternization with recruits and conduct unbecoming an officer. A spokesman […]
Women who take estrogen supplements to reduce symptoms of menopause may be at a higher risk for breast cancer if they consume alcohol. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on December 4 that Estrace, a specific form of estrogen supplements, may in fact cause breast cancer in women who drink a considerable amount […]
At a conference in La Paz, Bolivia on December 3, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed the importance of funding for international family planning. Rodham Clinton’s linked Republican-led international family planning cutoffs to increased maternal mortality rates in Central and South American as a result of illegal, unsafe abortions. There are nearly 400 maternal deaths […]
Contradicting O.J. Simpson’s recent testimony that he “never” hit or beat ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, several prosecution witnesses in the wrongful death trial against Simpson have testified that Simpson did indeed beat Nicole. Simpson’s friend Al Cowlings, visibility uncomfortable on the stand, testified that Nicole said Simpson hit her and caused the wounds visible on […]
President Clinton named U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright as the new U.S. Secretary of State on Thursday, December 5. Upon receiving Senate confirmation, Albright will become the first female secretary of state. Albright was born in Czechoslovakia and moved to the U.S. with her parents at age 11 after being forced out of her home country […]
Circuit Judge Kevin Chang, who ruled December 3 that a ban on same-sex marriages violated the Hawaii state constitution, has put the ruling on hold pending a state appeal. Chang agreed with state attorneys that allowing same-sex couples to marry would be problematic in the event that Hawaii’s Supreme Court overturns his ruling. Attorney General […]
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 […]
