Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to pass a ban on abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia. Introduced by Representative Trent Franks (Ariz.) in January, HR3803 prohibits physicians from providing abortions at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless the woman’s life is at stake.
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(Source: feminist.org)
In an interview with the Philadelphia Gay News, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), chair of the Democratic National Committee, backed the inclusion of marriage equality in the party platform. “I hope that marriage equality, and expect that marriage equality, will be part of our platform,” Rep. Wasserman Shultz said. In May, President Obama became the first sitting president in history to support marriage equality.
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(Source: feminist.org)
A federal judge in Nebraska dismissed a federal lawsuit yesterday that sought to block part of the new healthcare policy that will require insurance plans to cover birth control with no co-pays. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys general in seven states - Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, and Texas, claimed that the contraception mandate violates First Amendment rights guaranteeing religious freedom.
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Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appointed anti-choice obstetrician Dr. John W. Seed to the Virginia Board of Health this week. He is a vocal public opponent of legal first-trimester abortion. He serves as vice-chairman of anti-choice group “OBGYNS for Life”; is a member of the “medical resource council” of The Family Foundation, a religiously-based anti-choice group; and has testified many times in the Virginia General Assembly against abortion.
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(Source: feminist.org)
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli refused to certify the new Virginia targeted regulations of abortion providers (TRAP) yesterday that were passed by the Virginia Board of Health last month. The regulations contain an amendment, added in a 7 to 4 vote by the Board of Health, that exempts existing clinics from building regulations that would have required substantial renovations.
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(Source: feminist.org)
A Judge ruled on Friday to let a strict new anti-choice law stand, but will allow Mississippi’s lone abortion clinic more time to comply with the new regulations. Under this law, House Bill 1390, doctors must have admitting privileges at a local hospital and they must be board certified OB-GYNs.
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(Source: feminist.org)
Today, Air Force Sergeant Luis Walker’s court-martial in the Lackland Air Force Base sexual abuse scandal begins in Texas. Walker faces 28 charges including multiple counts of rape, aggravated sexual contact and aggravated sexual assault. If convicted of all counts, he could get life in prison and a dishonorable discharge. A seven-member jury of military-personnel will decide the case, which is only the first of at least 12 cases in the Lackland Air Force Base scandal.
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(Source: feminist.org)
The Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Thursday in an attempt to block an anti-choice law in Arizona. The law was signed into effect by Governor Jan Brewer this April, and is scheduled to go into effect August 2nd. The law prohibits women from getting an abortion 20 weeks after a woman’s last period, which is approximately 18 weeks after fertilization.
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(Source: feminist.org)
Today, the IOC announced that two Saudi Arabian female athletes, Sarah Attar and Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhan, qualified to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. This comes one month after Saudi Arabia announced that it would reverse its ban on women competing in the Olympic Games.
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(Source: feminist.org)
The first lesbian Super PAC, LPAC, was launched yesterday. LPAC, which is supported by actress Jane Lynch and tennis star Billie Jean King, will support pro-lesbian candidates and issues. LPAC has already received pledges of $200,000 and aims to raise one million dollars this election cycle. The group has not announced which candidates or issues it will support, but Representative Tammy Baldwin’s Senate race is a strong contender. If elected, Baldwin will be the first openly gay Senator.
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(Source: feminist.org)
