via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post As the only Republican Congressman at a rally for the Equal Rights Amendment on Thursday, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) gave women an unexpected piece of advice: Give your money to Democrats. “I think these are very precarious times for women, it seems. So many of your rights are under … 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 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 Erin Gloria Ryan, Jezebel A proposed new law in Arizona would give employers the power to request that women being prescribed birth control pills provide proof that they’re using it for non-sexual reasons. And because Arizona’s an at-will employment state, that means that bosses critical of their female employees’ sex lives could fire them … 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 Meghan Daum, Chicago Tribune Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University law school student Rush Limbaugh called a “slut” and a “prostitute,” is intelligent, poised and coherent. That alone puts her miles ahead of her detractors. She’s been making the rounds this week on behalf of her argument that the insurance she pays for at Georgetown … Continue reading
via Judd Legum, ThinkProgress Industry website radio-info.com has the scoop: When it comes to advertisers avoiding controversial shows, it’s not just Rush From today’s TRI Newsletter: Premiere Networks is circulating a list of 98 advertisers who want to avoid “environments likely to stir negative sentiments.” The list includes carmakers (Ford, GM, Toyota), insurance companies (Allstate, … Continue reading
via Jason Cherkis, The Huffington Post GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum has yet to deliver a substantial blow to Mitt Romney’s rival campaign. In the past two pivotal primary contests in battleground states, the former senator from Pennsylvania fell short, losing by squeaker margins in Michigan and Ohio. He may owe those defeats to his … 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 Jack Mirkinson, The Huffington Post Rush Limbaugh called the woman who was denied the right to speak at a controversial contraception hearing a “slut” on Wednesday. Sandra Fluke, a student at Georgetown Law School, was supposed to be the Democratic witness at a Congressional hearing about the Obama administration’s contraception policy. However, Darrell Issa, … 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 Rachel Marsden, Chicago Tribune Rachel Marsden is a columnist, political strategist and former Fox News host. I can’t believe that I actually agree with something President Barack Obama has done. Granted, I’m one of those conservatives who has never subscribed to the full-meal-deal checklist, preferring to critically consider whether each of my positions is … Continue reading
via Amanda Terkel and Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post Three Democrats walked out of a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on religious liberty and the birth control rule on Thursday to protest Chairman Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) refusal to allow a progressive woman to testify in favor of the Obama administration’s contraception rule. The morning … Continue reading
via Editorial Staff, The New York Times Even in the ultrapolarized atmosphere of Capitol Hill, it should be possible to secure broad bipartisan agreement on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, the 1994 law at the center of the nation’s efforts to combat domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The law’s renewal has strong backing … Continue reading
via Barbara Starr, CNN The Defense Department is notifying Congress Thursday it will open up nearly 14,000 jobs to military women that will place them even closer to the front lines of combat. A senior Pentagon official confirmed details to CNN, but declined to be identified until a formal announcement comes later on Thursday. Under … Continue reading
via Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune Noah Millman of the American Conservative asks us to perform a thought experiment: Pretend it’s not the Catholic Church at the center of the current controversy over the rights of religious institutions to exercise moral judgments regarding their employees’ health care plans. Instead, Millman suggests in a recent commentary, pretend … Continue reading
via Rep. Mike Quigley, The Huffington Post On January 20th, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that most employers will need to cover contraception in their basic benefits packages. Bearing in mind the religious objections of some to contraception, the administration also included an exemption that will allow religious institutions that exist for … Continue reading
via Susan Davis, USA Today The roster of congressional candidates for this year’s elections is taking shape and one trend is emerging: 2012 could be another “Year of the Woman” in American politics. The moniker was famously applied in 1992 when four women were elected to the Senate, a high watermark for the chamber that … 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