Two Big SCOTUS Wins; Texas Limits Cancer Screenings

(WOMENSENEWS)–

Cheers

The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the United States June 26 in a 5-4 decision, as widely reported. The ruling will stand as a milestone in its 226-year history. The justices ruled that states cannot deny gay men and lesbians the same marriage rights enjoyed for thousands of years by heterosexual couples.

"This ruling is a victory for America," said President Barack Obama, adding that "all people should be treated equally, regardless of who they are or who they love."

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing on behalf of the court, said the hope of gay people intending to marry "is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right," Reuters reported.

In another important decision, the Supreme Court upheld June 25 a key section of the Affordable Care Act declaring that government subsidies making health insurance affordable should be available to all Americans, The Washington Post reported. In a 6-3 vote, the divided court affirmed an Internal Revenue Service ruling that the subsidies should be available in states that have set up their own health insurance exchanges, as well as in states where consumers rely on the federal government exchange. The provision was challenged by conservative legal strategists. Read more in the Women’s eNews story "After Ruling Obama Says ACA ‘Here to Stay’."

More News to Cheer This Week:

Homeland Security officials announced plans to end the long-term detention of mothers with children caught crossing the border illegally by allowing most of them to be released quickly on bond, the New York Times reported June 24.

The federal government ordered federal employee health insurers to include transition-related health coverage for transgender employees in their plans, Buzzfeed News reported June 23.

A leading women’s group is calling on Israelis to boycott an upcoming concert by Chris Brown, on account of the RandB singer’s felony conviction for assaulting his girlfriend in 2009. Haaretz reported June 22.

A French teen made history this past weekend as she became the first female international player eligible to be signed by Major League Baseball, The Huffington Post reported June 22. Melissa Mayeux was added to the league’s international registration list, making her eligible to be picked up when the international signing period opens on July 2.

Lebanon has launched a 24-hour hotline for female domestic workers to allow them to report abuse or mistreatment and receive help, Thomson Reuters Foundation reported June 22. Social workers operating the hotline will document complaints and provide referrals to health care, legal assistance and relevant government institutions.

Jeers

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a budget proposal that will effectively prevent Planned Parenthood from providing cancer screenings for uninsured, low-income women, Salon reported June 23. Abbott signed off on a budget provision on June 20 that would exclude any clinics affiliated with abortion providers from receiving funding for cancer screening services. This decision comes just after a federal appeals court ruling on June 19 that will leave the state with just nine abortion clinics.

More News to Jeer This Week:

The administrator of a northwest Louisiana abortion clinic testified June 22 that it probably would close if the state is allowed to enforce a law requiring doctors who perform the procedure to be able to admit patients to a hospital within 30 miles of their clinics, The Associated Press reported.

Noted:

Two former Vanderbilt University football players found guilty of raping an unconscious student learned they could get a new trial, The Tennessean reported June 24. The rape happened two years ago. Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins granted defense mistrial motions, saying one juror who heard the case was biased because he did not disclose that he was a past victim of a sexual assault.

Daughters of working mothers are more likely to be employed, hold supervisory positions and earn more money than the daughters of women who don’t work outside the home, according to a working paper published June19 by the Harvard Business School. The researchers also found that the sons of working women are likely to spend more time caring for family members and doing household chores than the sons of stay-at-home mothers, Quartz reported.

Several Norwegian soccer players and Norway’s national TV broadcaster NRK produced a "mockumentary" addressing sexist stereotypes and critics who say the women’s game is inferior to the men’s, the New York Daily News reported June 23. In the nearly four-minute video, the female players pretend to perform poorly, which prompts them to send a fictitious list of suggestions to FIFA on how to improve the women’s game.