Abortion Rates Fall; State Pol Walks on DV Charge

By Kimberly St. Louis

WeNews correspondent

Saturday, October 17, 2009

(WOMENSENEWS)--

Cheers

Unintended pregnancies and abortions are declining in the developed and developing world as global contraceptive use increases, according to a report released by the New York-based Guttmacher Institute Oct. 13.

Unintended pregnancies fell to 55 per 1,000 women globally in 2008 from 69 per 1,000 women in 1995. The number of abortions performed worldwide dropped in 2003 to 41.6 million from 45.5 million in 1995. Forty percent of women live in regions with very restrictive abortion laws, particularly in the developing world. Unsafe, illegal abortions cause an estimated 70,000 deaths per year, the institute reported.

An additional 5 million women are treated annually for complications from unsafe abortions and approximately 3 million go untreated.

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Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist from Indiana University, made history when she became the first woman to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Ostrom said that while pursing her Ph.D. in the mid-1960s she was told she wouldn't be hired by any major university because she was a woman, CNN Money reported Oct. 12. Ostrom shares the $1.4 million prize with Oliver E. Williamson, from the University of California, Berkley. The two received the prize for their research on the impact of companies and individuals on market behavior.
A nationwide survey released Oct. 15 showed that three-quarters of 3,413 surveyed women and men believe the increasing role of women in the workplace is positive for American society and the economy, MSNBC reported. The poll, which was included in "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything," looks at the status of women and was conducted by Maria Shriver and the Washington, D.C.-based Center for American Progress. It also found that 56 percent of the women and 45 percent of the men surveyed believed that mothers can be as productive as those without children.

Jeers

After a three-week trial, New York State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, a Democrat, was found guilty of a misdemeanor on Oct. 15 for assaulting his companion, Karla Giraldo, in December 2008. The judge presiding over the case said he believed that there was reasonable doubt that Monserrate intended to injure Giraldo when he cut her face with a glass.

Monserrate, a linchpin in the battle for Democratic control of the state Senate, was caught on camera dragging Giraldo in an apartment lobby while she clutched a towel covering her bloody face. Monserrate was acquitted of two counts of felony assault and found guilty of a misdemeanor assault. The felony conviction would have resulted in automatic removal from the Senate and up to seven years in prison. With his current conviction and as a first-time offender, he may never spend time behind bars.