Judge Strikes Plan B Limits; Abortion Laws Passed

Credit: American Life League on Flickr, under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0).

(WOMENSENEWS)–

Cheers

A federal judge ruled April 5 that the government must make the most common emergency contraceptive, Plan B, available over the counter for all ages, instead of requiring a prescription for girls 16 and younger, The New York Times reported April 5. For more, read the Women’s eNews story “Supporters of Plan-B Access Flash Mob NYC Store.”

More News to Cheer This Week:

Pope Francis stressed the “fundamental” importance of women in the Roman Catholic Church, Reuters reported April 3. He said women had always had a special mission in the church as “first witnesses” of Christ’s resurrection, and because they pass belief onto their children and grandchildren.

Madonna has decided to sell “Trois Femmes a la Table Rouge,” a 1921 painting by Fernand Leger, at Sotheby’s in New York on May 7 to benefit girls’ education projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries, The New York Times reported April 3.

Hillary Clinton made her public debut in her new role as prospective presidential candidate April 2 by returning to the issue that has animated her long career on the national stage — the empowerment of women around the globe, The New York Times reported April 2.

Women in France will no longer pay to have an abortion and minors between ages 15 and 18 will be able to get free contraception in family planning centers, French radio station RFI reported March 31.

Two female candidates made history in Pakistan when they became the first tribal women to file nomination papers to participate in the upcoming general elections, The Nation reported April 1. In the past, tribal traditions forbad women to exercise their right to franchise.

Jeers

Three states passed abortion-related measures this week. In Michigan, abortion clinics will need a state license and must check to make sure women are not being bullied or pressured into getting an abortion under a new law that took effect March 31, the Associated Press reported.

Alabama lawmakers gave final passage to a measure placing stricter regulations on clinics that provide abortions, USA Today reported April 3.

Meanwhile, Virginia approved an amendment April 3 by Gov. Bob McDonnell that will bar insurers that participate in the upcoming federal health exchange in the state from offering coverage for abortion, The Huffington Post reported April 4.

More News to Jeer This Week:

Twenty-four thousand women in the U.S. become infertile every year as a result of undiagnosed sexually-transmitted infections, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, The Atlantic reported April 4.

The Egyptian parliament approved April 3 election laws that allow parties to use religious slogans in campaigns and that drop a requirement to put female candidates high on their lists, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Meanwhile, a United Nations envoy expressed dismay April 3 at the sexual attacks on female protesters in Egypt, as well as the messages from prominent religious and political leaders that women are to blame, UN News Center reported.

A man went on a rampage with an axe in a village in central India, killing four women and five girls, BBC News reported April 4.

Reebok faced protests from women’s rights activists over their ties with rapper Rick Ross, who appears to boast about date rape in his latest single, The Independent reported April 4.

Expectant mothers in Romania are more likely to miscarry as a result of cuts to government spending, a study finds, The Independent reported April 3.

In its April 3 report, the Women Under Siege project at the Women’s Media Center detailed its crowd-sourced findings about the nature and incidence of rape and sexualized violence in Syria. The majority of attacks were carried out by government forces. For more, read the Women’s eNews story “Lauren Wolfe Crowdsources Rape, Sex Assault Data.”

The overall homicide rate of women has declined in South Africa but there has been no significant decrease in murders by intimate partners in a decade, a study published April 2 found, reported LiveScience.

Transgender women were 49 times more likely to have HIV compared to a reference population, according to a new study on transgender women and HIV, The Huffington Post reported April 2.

Freshmen at a Miami high school were left sobbing after a website filled with nude photos of underage young women went viral — and some of them were identified by name, The Daily Mail reported April 2.

The rape and murder of a young woman in New Delhi in December, followed by two attacks on foreign female travelers, has altered how tourists view India and has led to a sharp fall in the numbers of foreign tourists, especially women, the New York Daily News reported April 1.

Syrian rebels and government forces have accused each other of killing 13 civilians, most of them women and children, RT reported April 1. Their bodies were discovered March 31 in the province of Homs in western Syria, near the Lebanese border.

A Zumba instructor in Kennebunk, Maine, pleaded guilty March 29 to using her dance studio as a front for a prostitution ring that involved scores of men in New England, The New York Times reported March 29.

Feminism has failed working-class women by focusing too much on gender equality in high-profile roles, according to new research, The Guardian reported March 31.

Noted:

The first ladies of five African nations addressed the challenges women and children face in their countries and what needs to be done to improve their lives, especially in health care, Voice of Americareported April 3.

Emily’s List, the organization that backs Democratic women who support abortion rights, threw its support April 2 to Nan Whaley, who is running for mayor of Dayton, Ohio, USA Today reported.

Syrian activist Mouna Ghanem told Barbara Walters April 4 that women need to be at the table during negotiations over the conflict in Syria, The Daily Beast reported April 5. For more, read the Women’s eNews story “Arab Women Say Time for Saying ‘Spring’ Is Over.”

Topless protesters staged demonstrations on self-declared “Topless Jihad Day,” near mosques and Tunisian embassies across Europe April 4 to express support for embattled Tunisian Femen activist Amina Tyler, The Huffington Post reported. On April 5 “Muslimah Pride Day” was organized in response to Femen, using the hashtag #MuslimahPride, in which Muslim women criticized Femen’s topless campaign and said it reinforced stereotypes about Muslim women.

Testimony in Jodi Arias‘ murder trial resumed April 4 with a domestic violence expert on the witness stand. Arias’ parents said their daughter was “strange” and had “mental problems” when they were interviewed by police two months after her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander was found dead, ABC News reported. For more read the Women’s eNews story “Arias Murder Trial Tests Battered-Women’s Defense.”

A growing number of men in Britain are filing for divorce as a result of their wives’ excessive drinking, the head of family law at Slater and Gordon, Amanda McAlister, has claimed, The Telegraph reported April 3.

A letter from a Princeton alum and parent featured late last week in a student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian, has provoked impassioned interest as Susan Patton advised female students to find a husband on campus, USA Today reported April 1.

A
Saudi newspaper, Al-Yawm, says the kingdom’s religious police are now allowing women to ride motorbikes and bicycles but only in restricted, recreational areas, the Associated Press reported April 1. However, the women have to be accompanied by a male relative and dressed in the full Islamic head-to-toe abaya.