The Vatican declared “attempted ordination” of women to be one of the Catholic Church’s gravest crimes this morning, asserting that it is a “crime against the faith” under their new disciplinary rules, according to Agence France-Presse. Under the new rules, attempted ordination of women is in the same category as clerical sex abuse of minors, […]
Early this morning the Argentine Senate passed a law giving homosexual couples the right to legally wed and adopt children. The law passed by a vote of 33 to 27, making Argentina the first Latin American country to approve gay marriage, reports the New York Times. According to Reuters, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, an open […]
The Church of England’s ruling body has announced that women bishops should be allowed, despite protests from traditionalists within the Church. After a marathon 12-hour debate, the Church’s national assembly, the General Synod, has agreed to send draft legislation to dioceses for approval, according to Agence France-Presse. Assuming a majority of dioceses agree, women will […]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service in a letter late last week “to ensure that religiously-affiliated hospitals provide emergency reproductive care as required by federal law,” including emergency abortions. All hospitals receiving federal funds must provide all necessary emergency medical reproductive procedures despite religious affiliation under the […]
This past weekend gay pride marches were held across the country on the 41st anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which broke out after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar. In the 1960s, raids on gay bars were common, but the riots resulting from the raid of the Stonewall Inn are […]
The first same-sex marriage was performed in Portugal yesterday after the country legalized gay marriage in May. Language altering the country’s constitution to allow for same-sex marriage went into effect yesterday, reported On Top Magazine. The couple, Teresa Pires and Helena Paixao, have been together since 2003 and played a strong role in campaigning for […]
Without feminism, it would have been just another contraceptive By Elaine Tyler May, originally posted on Ms. magazine Fifty years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the oral contraceptive. As we mark that momentous anniversary, women have much to celebrate. The Pill changed the lives of millions of women and became one of […]
A Catholic nun in Arizona was recently reassigned and “automatically excommunicated” following controversy after she approved an emergency abortion during a patient medical crisis late in 2009. Sister Margaret McBride was a senior administrator at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. A statement released by the hospital said, “In this tragic case, the treatment necessary to […]
A so-called “pro-life pharmacy” in Chantilly, Virginia, closed in March due to lack of business. Divine Mercy Care, or DMC Pharmacy, was one of seven anti-choice pharmacies in the country, stated the Washington Times. Products excluded from DMC Pharmacy’s shelves included birth control pills, condoms, porn, tobacco and makeup, according to The Washington Post. Located […]
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement from the high court today. Stevens sent a letter to President Obama today that read, “Having concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court’s next term, […]
Numerous Vatican cardinals have spoken out in defense of Pope Benedict XVI, claiming he was wrongfully accused of the sex abuse allegations made against the Catholic Church in recent months and is the target of an anti-Catholic “hate” campaign due to his anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage positions. Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of […]
News broke late Friday night that Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) was brokering a deal with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to ban all abortion coverage in the health-care reform bill. You may be feeling deja vu. Backed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Stupak pulled the same trick–an 11th hour meeting with Pelosi–to […]
Spain’s Senate gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill that liberalizes the countries abortion laws. The new law allows abortion up to 14 weeks, which means that Spanish women will no longer risk imprisonment should they choose abortion. It also gives 16 and 17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent. The […]
Originally Posted on Huffington Post by Kathy Spillar, Ms. magazine Executive Editor As health care reform is being debated today at the White House between Democrats and Republicans, who better to weigh in than … Catholic bishops?
A Kentucky state Senate judiciary committee voted unanimously yesterday in favor of a bill that would require women who are seeking an abortion to have and view an ultrasound prior to the procedure. The bill, introduced by state Senator Elizabeth Tori (R), also requires patients to meet with a doctor 24 hours prior to the […]
Radical lesbian feminist theologian Mary Daly died at age 81 on January 3rd. Daly is also known as a philosopher and academic who taught at Boston College for 33 years. She held separate doctorate degrees in English, philosophy, and religion and was widely published. Her books include The Church and the Second Sex, Beyond God […]
Activists on both sides of the abortion debate have expressed their displeasure with the Senate version of the healthcare bill, which will be up for a final vote on Christmas Eve. If the bill passes, it will then go into conference to be reconciled with the House bill, from which it has substantial differences. The […]
The Mexico City assembly approved a bill Monday permitting same-sex couples to marry, reports The Guardian. It is the first major Latin American city to do so. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is expected to sign the bill, which alters the city code to define marriage as “the free uniting of two people,” instead of its current […]
Senate Democratic leadership has delegated to Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) the task of winning over Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), in an attempt to secure the sixty votes necessary to prevent the fillibuster of the healthcare reform bill. Nelson, a longtime reproductive rights opponent, has threatened to join the Republicans in blocking the healthcare reform vote […]
The Washington, DC, city council voted for the second time today to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill passed in an 11 to 2 vote. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has already agreed to sign the measure. If the bill is not overturned during a mandatory 30 day congressional review, then Washington D.C. will join Connecticut, Iowa, […]
