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via Jessica Pieklo, Care2 Causes Arizona Republicans lost an effort to force women to explain to their employers why they need and use birth control so that their employer could chose whether or not to allow insurance coverage for that contraception. The final bill was defeated on a 17-13 vote but not without causing significant … Continue reading
via Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic Before this week, the well-being of tens of millions of Americans was at stake in the lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act. Now something else is at stake, too: The legitimacy of the Supreme Court. Nobody knows how the justices will rule. And nobody can know, not even the … Continue reading
via Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune New Hampshire House Bill 1659 is titled the “Women’s Right to Know Act,” but a more accurate title would be the “Activists’ Right to Lie to Women Act.” The measure, now moving through the Granite State Legislature, requires that at least 24 hours before undergoing a medical abortion, a woman … Continue reading
[Editress’ Note: Today marks the 40th anniversary of the day Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which guarantees equal protection under the law regardless of sex, but today it is still not included in our Constitution. Today we are facing a War on Women. We must fight back. The ERA must be ratified … Continue reading
via Amanda Marcotte, Slate The most important thing to remember as Republicans pose as victims of Democrats igniting a culture war over women’s rights is this: Republicans are not required to take the bait. They were not required to try to pass legislation restricting women’s ability to use their own insurance to cover contraception. They … Continue reading
via Andrea Kelly, Arizona Public Media The state House education committee passed a bill Monday that would prohibit school districts and charter schools from promoting abortion as a better alternative to childbirth and adoption. SB 1009 would require schools to talk about adoption as the preferred alternative to abortion when the issue comes up in … Continue reading
via David Allyn, Chicago Tribune We seem to be living in a time warp. Conservatives are denouncing not just abortion, but birth control. There was the Rush Limbaugh “slut” episode. Actor Kirk Cameron called homosexuality “unnatural,” “detrimental” and “ultimately destructive.” Meanwhile, Rick Santorum sees Satan lurking in America’s bedrooms. At first blush, such backwardness might … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post As a member of a heavily male- and GOP-dominated state Senate since 2008, Ohio legislator Nina Turner says she has cringed watching her colleagues pass bill after bill to regulate women’s reproductive health. Now, the Democrat has become the latest in a series of female state legislators to give … Continue reading
via Pam Belluck, The New York Times Leticia Parra, a mother of five scraping by on income from her husband’s sporadic construction jobs, relied on the Planned Parenthood clinic in San Carlos, an impoverished town in South Texas, for breast cancer screenings, free birth control pills and pap smears for cervical cancer. But the clinic … Continue reading
via Anita Kumar, The Washington Post The Virginia Senate voted Tuesday for a scaled-back version of a contentious proposal that would require women to undergo external ultrasounds before abortions, but not the transvaginal ones. The 21-19 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate — mostly along party lines — came after Gov. Robert F. McDonnell asked legislators … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post Oklahoma Sen. Judy McIntyre (D), one of four women in the 48-member state Senate, looked out over a sea of homemade signs at a fetal personhood protest at the state Capitol on Tuesday and spotted one that she wanted to hold herself. “If I wanted the government in my … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post Following news that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) seems to have walked back his support for a GOP-sponsored bill that would require women to undergo a physically invasive transvaginal ultrasound procedure before having an abortion, members of the state legislature are speculating that Republicans are looking for a way … Continue reading
via CNN As members of Georgia’s House of Representatives debate whether to prohibit abortions for women more than 20 weeks pregnant, House Democrats introduced their own reproductive rights plan: No more vasectomies that leave “thousands of children … deprived of birth.” Rep. Yasmin Neal, a Democrat from the Atlanta suburb of Jonesboro, planned on Wednesday … Continue reading
via The Huffington Post Several Illinois lawmakers expressed frustration last week when the Illinois House Agriculture Committee once again put women’s health issues on their agenda — and now one legislator is fighting back. The committee, which is supposed to deal with livestock and farming issues, has a history of taking up controversial social issues … Continue reading
via Michele Gershberg, The New York Times Susan G. Komen for the Cure said on Friday it was retreating from a decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and birth control services, and apologized for a move that thrust the world’s largest breast cancer charity into a deeply politicized controversy. “We will … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication. … Continue reading
via David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement In what is certain to be a staggering blow for the religious right and conservative organizations, as well as the 2012 Republican Party’s attempts to regain the White House, a new poll by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) finds that 71.3% of college freshmen support same-sex marriage … Continue reading
via The Huffington Post The number of abortions performed in Illinois fell to a 37 year low in 2010, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. While both abortion opponents and pro-choice advocates believe the decrease in abortions is a good thing, the groups disagree on why the state saw such … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post In the competition for the toughest anti-abortion stance in Iowa, GOP candidates this week have adopted more extreme positions on abortion than they have previously ever held. But their shift toward extremity for the sake of Iowa’s evangelical base could come back to haunt the eventual nominee in the … Continue reading
via Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones Undeterred by Mississippi’s failed attempt to grant fertilized eggs the same rights as adult humans, anti-abortion rights advocates in Colorado and Virginia signaled Monday that intend to bring the effort to their states. In Virginia, Delegate Bob Marshall (R) filed legislation that would amend the state constitution to declare that … Continue reading
via Katharine Q. Seelye, The New York Times Voters turned a skeptical eye toward conservative-backed measures across the country Tuesday, rejecting an anti-labor law in Ohio, an anti-abortion measure in Mississippi and a tightening of voting rights in Maine. Even in Arizona, voters turned out of office the chief architect of that state’s controversial anti-immigration law. … Continue reading
via Felicia Sonmez, The Washington Post After months of focusing on economic rather than social issues, the House this week is poised to take up a measure that will bring the abortion-rights debate back to the floor for the first time since May. On Friday, the House will consider H.R. 358, the “Protect Life Act.” … Continue reading
via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) proposed a bill on Thursday that would force women in the early stages of pregnancy to have a physically invasive and medically unnecessary ultrasound procedure before they can legally consent to having an abortion. The “Heartbeat Informed Consent Act” requires doctors to … Continue reading
A federal judge refused Thursday to block enforcement of a new Kansas law that restricts insurance coverage for abortions. U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown rejected a request from the American Civil Liberties Union for a temporary injunction while the group challenges the law in court. Brown said the ACLU, which filed its lawsuit in August, … Continue reading
During Wednesday night’s Republican debate, Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) stood at a podium flanked by seven men. She articulated her plan to repeal “Obamacare” and to slash gasoline prices when the moderator addressed her, but she generally faded into the background as Rick Perry and Mitt Romney pulled ahead of the pack. Notably, she failed … Continue reading
The Brandt Standard 