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6/28/2013 - Ohio Budget Includes Severe Anti-Abortion Provisions, Heads to Governor
Yesterday the Ohio state legislature passed a $62 billion budget that includes multiple anti-abortion provisions that could all but eliminate abortion access in the state.
The budget strips $2 million in family planning funds from Planned Parenthood. The budget then redirects family planning funds toward deceptive crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). CPCs are often owned and operated by churches or anti-abortion groups that pose as legitimate health centers. CPCs are not required to provide medically accurate information and often convey religious beliefs in an attempt to convince women to carry their pregnancies to term. The Ohio budget also includes a provision that would deny federal funding to rape crisis centers who provide information on abortion to rape victims.
Another provision of the Ohio budget as passed by the Senate could potentially close multiple abortion clinics throughout the state. The provision prohibits abortion clinics from having transfer agreements with public hospitals in cases where a patient needs additional care. However, in order for ambulatory surgical centers to be licensed by the state, they are required to have such transfer agreements in place. If a clinic is unable to locate or receive an agreement with a private hospital they will be forced to shut down.
Republican legislatures also added an ultrasound amendment late in the debate yesterday requiring doctors to determine if there is a fetal heartbeat and inform the woman of the likelihood it will survive to full term. The language used in the amendment reflects language from an unsuccessful attempt to ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The budget passed on mostly party lines in both the state House and Senate. In the House, seven Republicans joined the Democrats in voting against the bill, but it was passed in a 53 to 44 vote. In the Senate only one Republican joined the Democrats in the voting no. It was passed 21 to 11, with three lawmakers who did not vote.
The only person who can change the budget now is Governor John Kasich (R), who must sign the budget by 11:59pm on Sunday. Kasich has not said whether he will do a line item veto on any of the abortion provisions. "I think the Legislature has a right to stick things in budgets and put policy in budgets," Kasich told reporters. "I'll look at the language, keeping in mind that I'm pro-life."
6/28/2013 - Senate Passes Immigration Reform, House Will Not Consider
On Thursday, the United States Senate passed an overhaul to the immigration system with bipartisan support. The piece of legislation includes a pathway to citizenship, but also requires militarization of the US-Mexico border.
68 senators - 54 Democrats and 14 Republicans - voted to approve immigration reform based on the proposal of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators charged with overhauling the immigration system. A key victory for progressives is the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people currently living in the United States without proper documentation. However, before that path can be made open to those 11 million people, five conditions must be met, including doubling the amount of agents at the US-Mexico border, adding an addition 750 miles of fencing, and establishing an E-verify system for determining a person's visa status. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the Gang of Eight and a staunch conservative, remarked "This border-security measure blows my mind. We've practically militarized the border."
President Obama applauded the Senate's bipartisan efforts, saying in a statement "Today, with a strong bipartisan vote, the United States Senate delivered for the American people, bringing us a critical step closer to fixing our broken immigration system once and for all... The bipartisan bill that passed today was a compromise. By definition, nobody got everything they wanted. Not Democrats. Not Republicans. Not me. But the Senate bill is consistent with the key principles for commonsense reform that I - and many others - have repeatedly laid out." He continued, "Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop commonsense reform from becoming a reality. We cannot let that happen. If you're among the clear majority of Americans who support reform - from CEOs to labor leaders, law enforcement to clergy - reach out to your Member of Congress. Tell them to do the right thing."
Graham also applauded the Senate's efforts, saying "This is as good as it gets in the Senate."
However, the bill appears dead on arrival in the House of Representatives. In a released statement prior to the debate, Speaker of the House John Boehner said, "Immigration reform must - I mean must - be grounded in real border security. That's what the American people believe, and it's a principle that this House majority will insist upon." He elaborated with reporters, "I issued a statement that I thought was pretty clear, but apparently some haven't gotten the message: the House is not going to take up and vote on whatever the Senate passes. We're going to do our own bill."
6/28/2013 - Department of Education Releases Guidelines Protecting Pregnant Students
Earlier this week, the Department of Education (DOE) released new guidance on how to assist pregnant and parenting students in their academic career.
The guidelines, in the form of a Dear Colleague letter and accompanying pamphlet, details how schools should handle the needs of pregnant and parenting students in accordance with Title IX. In the pamphlet, the DOE clarifies that any school cannot require pregnant or parenting students to complete or any paperwork or courses that are not required of other students who take hospital leave. In addition, the pamphlet dictates that schools make reasonable accommodations to pregnant students such as larger desks and elevator use in the same capacity as accommodations made to other students with medical conditions. Though the pamphlet is aimed at secondary schools, the DOE states that the legal principles behind the guidelines also apply to higher education.
Lisa Maatz of American Association of University Women commented on the changes, "Pregnant and parenting students have always been protected under Title IX, but this guidance provides much-needed clarification and concrete steps schools must take to support these students... AAUW is pleased that the Department of Education has made it abundantly clear that schools may not deny mothers and fathers educational opportunities that are provided to other students."
6/27/2013 - Rick Perry Calls Second Special Session on Abortion Restrictions
After a marathon filibuster to defeat an extreme anti-abortion bill, Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) has called a second special session in an attempt to pass the anti-choice legislation of Senate Bill 5.
Beginning at 11:18 am CST on Tuesday, Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) talked about the dangers of Senate Bill 5, read testimony from women and others who opposed the bill, speaking of her own experience at Planned Parenthood, and discussing the changes the bill had experienced. During the filibuster, Davis was not permitted to go off-topic, sit down, break for eating or to use the restroom, or even lean on her desk. Davis successfully continued her filibuster until 10:00 pm local time when supporters of the bill challenged her saying that she had violated procedural rules. The challenge prompted a two hour debate on the procedural rules of the filibuster and whether Davis has violated any portion of them. Initially, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst (R) who is a supporter of the bill, announced that it had passed in a vote of 17 to 12 when the vote was taken at 11:45 pm that night. Opponents decried the vote, saying that was taken after midnight and therefore invalid. At 3:00 am, Dewhurst announced that though the bill had passed, the final votes were cast after midnight making the vote moot.
On Wednesday, Governor Rick Perry released a press release announcing a new special session to begin July 1 specifically to readdress Senate Bill 5. In his statement, Perry said "I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas. Through their duly elected representatives, the citizens of our state have made crystal clear their priorities for our great state. Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn... We will not allow the breakdown of decorum and decency to prevent us from doing what the people of this state hired us to do." During a special session, the Legislature can only address the legislation chosen by the governor. Other issues Perry has ordered they discuss relate transportation funding and sentencing of capital offenses for 17 year olds.
Davis responded to the announcement by committing to do whatever it takes to defeat the bill. She told local reporters, "They may roll over us. They probably will, but they underestimate the consequences of doing so... Obviously we're still going to fight with every fiber that we have."
Hundreds of protesters packed into the Capitol opposing the bill and supporting Davis in her filibuster. When Davis' filibuster was challenged, chants of "Let Her Speak" and "Shame" caused chaos in the hearing room. The chants continued when the final vote on the bill was taken at 11:45pm, making it difficult to count votes. Dewhurst attributed the late vote to an "unruly mob using Occupy Wall Street tactics."
Senator Davis applauded the efforts of protesters to make their voices heard. "What I think this has done is empowered people to understand, when they involve themselves in a democracy, they truly can make a difference and they made the difference in the Texas capitol yesterday, and I think this will linger," Davis said on Anderson Cooper 360. "I think even if this bill passes [in the next] special session, the reaction to it won't be a partisan one. It's a reaction coming from Republicans, independents and Democrats alike which is saying, 'Gov. Perry, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, stay out of my private decision-making.'"
The measure, Senate Bill 5, would outlaw abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and require abortions clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers, even if only nonsurgical procedures, or medication abortions, are being done. It would also require the doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic. If passed, the bill threatens to close 37 out of the 42 abortion clinics in the state of Texas.
6/27/2013 - Dorothy Jonas, Feminist Majority Foundation Board Member, Feminist Champion, Remembered
One of the founding board members of the Feminist Majority Foundation in 1987, longtime feminist activist Dorothy Jonas died on June 22 (1921 - 2013).
In the late 1970s Jonas played a pivotal role as a leader in California for the nationwide campaign for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). She chaired numerous celebrity filled events to raise critical funding for the National Organization for Women's (NOW's) campaign in unratified states.
An expert on the impact of court-imposed joint custody agreements and on women and divorce, she was a vigorous advocate of family law reform. In 1985, Eleanor Smeal (NOW's then-president) appointed Jonas to chair the new NOW Task Force on the Rights of Women in Marriage. Together with her daughter Bonnie Sloane, Jonas campaigned successfully to improve legal protection for marital property rights. After a seven-year effort, a landmark bill was signed by California Gov. Pete Wilson in 1991, making California the first state to guarantee full protection of the law for the economic rights of spouses.
"Dorothy was unbelievably determined. She won against overwhelming odds extensive rights for married women. Through many years and many campaigns for women's rights and full equality, I could always turn to Dorothy to take on a key job. I could always count on her know-how and tenacity to get the job done," said Eleanor Smeal, president and co-founder of FMF, and former president of NOW.
Jonas was active in the California Democratic Party and an early member of the powerful Los Angeles based Women's Political Committee, whose aim is to elect more feminist Democratic women to public office.
Says Peg Yorkin, co-founder of the FMF and chair of the board, "If one were to meet Dorothy at a political or social event, she seemed to be a cultured, well-educated and yes, gentle, woman. For those of us who knew her, she was a caring but tough advocate for women's issues. Dorothy was always interested and engaged in women's rights. And she put her considerable intellect and income into the service of both."
Jonas also fought for years to improve treatment for rape survivors and develop needed policy reforms to eliminate discriminatory practices. She was the longtime president of the board of the Rape Treatment Center in Santa Monica and founder of The Rape Foundation.
Jonas received numerous awards, from the League of Women Voters to the California Women's Law Center. She was a former chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women and a co-founder and chair of the Coalition for Family Equity in Los Angeles.
6/26/2013 - Supreme Court Rules In Favor Marriage Equality
Today the Supreme Court handed down two decisions affirming marriage rights for same-sex couples in the cases of US v Windsor and Hollingsworth v Perry.
In a narrow 5-4 decision with Justices Kennedy, Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan in the majority, the Court ruled in United States v Windsor that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) statute prohibiting state recognized same-sex married couples from receiving federal benefits was unconstitutional. In an opinion written [PDF] by Kennedy, the court determined,
"DOMA's unusual deviation from the usual tradition of recognizing and accepting state definitions of marriage here operates to deprive same-sex couples of the benefits and responsibilities that come with the federal recognition of their marriages. This is strong evidence of a law having the purpose and effect of disapproval of that class. The avowed purpose and practical effect of the law here in question are to impose a disadvantage, a separate status, and so a stigma upon all who enter into same-sex marriages made lawful by the unquestioned authority of the States.Justices Thomas, Scalia, Alito and Chief Justice Roberts dissented.
In a second 5-4 decision, the Court determined that the case upholding California's Proposition 8, Hollingsworth v Perry, did not have legal standing and returned the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals with the order to dismiss it. With Chief Justice Roberts writing the opinion and joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Scalia, and Sotomayor, the Court determined that the opponents of same-sex marriage did not have the legal standing to challenge the overturning of Proposition 8 by the California Supreme Court. In order to challenge the ruling, either the state needed to challenge the ruling (which it declined to do) or the challenging party needed to experience "concrete and particularized injury" as a result of the decision. The Justices found that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated injury as a result, and therefore neither the Supreme Court nor the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had the authority to take the case. Justices Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, and Sotomayor dissented.
The decision was widely celebrated by LGBT activists, allies, and supporters. Rea Carrey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said in a statement, "Today's historic decisions are a significant leap forward for freedom and justice for same-sex couples and their families, the LGBT community and for our nation-and a lot more work needs to be done to deliver marriage equality to the rest of our nation's same-sex couples and their families and full equality in every other respect for all LGBT people."
President Obama said in a statement issued from Air Force One, "I applaud the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. This was discrimination enshrined in law. It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it... The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free."
Katherine Spillar, Executive Vice President of the Feminist Majority Foundation and executive editor of Ms. magazine, based in California, added, "Along with millions of other feminists, Ms. magazine and the Feminist Majority Foundation are celebrating the two U.S. Supreme Court decisions today that declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and let stand a lower court decision that California's Proposition 8 is also unconstitutional... Feminists in California fought like hell to defeat Proposition 8 when it came on the ballot in 2008. I joined the board of Equality California, along with Feminist Majority Foundation board member Dolores Huerta, to strengthen the connections between the feminist and LGBT communities in the major human rights issue."
Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, said "At last Prop 8 and DOMA are finished. Marriage equality lives in California, the biggest state in the nation. And the federal government must recognize marriage equality in 13 states and the District of Columbia, covering 30% of the nation's population. There is still work to do, but victory is in sight. On the 10th anniversary of Lawrence v. Texas, the Court takes another major step towards equality."
6/26/2013 - Texas Anti-Abortion Law Defeated In Filibuster
Texas state Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) successfully blocked an extreme anti-abortion measure from coming to a vote by filibustering the bill for over 10 hours until the end of the special congressional session.
The measure, Senate Bill 5, would have outlawed abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and required abortions clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers, even if only nonsurgical procedures, or medication abortions, are being done. It would also have required the doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic.
Beginning at 11:18 am CST, Davis talked about the dangers of Senate Bill 5, read testimony from women and others who opposed the bill, speaking of her own experience at Planned Parenthood, and discussing the changes the bill had experienced. During the filibuster, Davis was not permitted to go off-topic, sit down, break for eating or to use the restroom, or even lean on her desk. Davis successfully continued her filibuster until 10:00 pm local time when supporters of the bill challenged her saying that she had violated procedural rules. The challenge prompted a two hour debate on the procedural rules of the filibuster and whether Davis has violated any portion of them.
Hundreds of protesters packed into the Capitol opposing the bill and supporting Davis in her filibuster. When Davis' filibuster was challenged, chants of "Let Her Speak" and "Shame" caused chaos in the hearing room. The chants continued when the final vote on the bill was taken at 11:45pm, making it difficult to count votes. Initially, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst (R) who is a supporter of the bill, announced that it had passed in a vote of 17 to 12. Opponents decried the vote, saying that was taken after midnight and therefore invalid. At 3:00 am, Dewhurst announced that though the bill had passed, the final votes were cast after midnight making the vote moot.
Dewhurst attributed the late vote to an "unruly mob using Occupy Wall Street tactics." He also suggested that the fight may not be over. Conservative Governor Rick Perry (R) could call another special session of the Senate where they are only allowed to debate what bill the Governor directs them to, and then instruct them to reopen debate on SB5.
On social media websites, opponents of the bill were watching the filibuster non-stop. Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, said in a tweet "Shame on GOP male controlled TX senate who broke the rules to deny women their constitutional rights. Feminists #StandwithWendy." Davis tweeted after the filibuster, "Thanks to the powerful voices of thousands of Texans, #SB5 is dead. An incredible victory for Texas women and those who love them."
6/25/2013 - Supreme Court Rejects Statute of Voting Rights Act
Today the Supreme Court ruled that a statute requiring preclearance for changing voting guidelines is unconstitutional.
In a five to four decision with the opinion written [PDF] by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which determines which districts have to submit changes in their voting practice and regulation regardless of size to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in accordance with Section 5 of the VRA, is unconstitutional. In doing so, the Court essentially nullified Section 5 requiring preclearance in voting regulation changes. Section 5 has been used to stop over 700 discriminatory laws from going into effect between 1982 and 2006.
Roberts and the majority opinion argued that the formula determining which state and local governments must submit their changes is outdated [PDF] and therefore can no longer be used to require preclearance. While this decision subsequently voids the preclearance process, the majority did not rule preclearance requirement in Section 5 unconstitutional. Instead, the Court gave Congress the responsibility to create a new formula to determine who must comply with preclearance requirements. In a concurring opinion, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he would have urged the Court to also overturn Section 5.
In a dissenting opinion [PDF], Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer joined Ruth Bader Ginsburg in arguing that since Congress determined the formula in Section 4 was still accurate there was a demonstrated need to retain it. Ginsburg lays out the history of the Voting Rights Act and the various challenges and reauthorizations it has faced. Ginsburg, et al., also argue that Congress is aware that the formula may need to be revised in the future based on the time frame Congress determined for reauthorization.
In her dissent, Ginsburg writes [PDF] "The sad irony of today's decision lies in its utter failure to grasp why the VRA has proven effective... In truth, the evolution of voting discrimination into more subtle second-generation barriers is powerful evidence that a remedy as effective as preclearance remains vital to protect minority voting rights and prevent backsliding." She continues, "For a half century, a concerted effort has been made to end racial discrimination in voting. Thanks to the Voting Rights Act, progress once the subject of a dream has been achieved and continues to be made."
In conclusion, Ginsburg writes "After exhaustive evidence-gathering and deliberative process, Congress reauthorized the VRA, including the coverage provision, with overwhelming bipartisan support... In my judgment, the Court errs egregiously by overriding Congress' decision."
Civil rights advocates around the country have denounced the decision. President Obama said in a statement, "Today's decision invalidating one of its core provisions upsets decades of well-established practices that help make sure voting is fair, especially in places where voting discrimination has been historically prevalent." NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous decried, "This decision is outrageous. The Court's majority put politics over decades of precedent and the rights of voters." Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, said "The fundamental responsibility of the Supreme Court is to protect minority rights, especially the most basic right in a democracy, the right to vote. The Court has failed in this responsibility."
6/25/2013 - Supreme Court To Determine Constitutionality of MA Buffer Zone
On Monday, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear a case deciding the legality of a 2007 Massachusetts law that created a 35-foot 'buffer zone' around abortion clinics preventing anti-abortion protesters from entering said buffer zone.
In January of this year, the 1st US. District Court of Appeals determined that a 2007 law establishing a 35-foot "buffer zone" around abortion clinic entrances, exits and driveways did not violate the First Amendment rights of anti-abortion protesters. Protesters claimed that the buffer zone prevented them from conversing with patients in a close proximity. Advocates argued that the law was necessary to protect both patients and clinic staff from anti-abortion intimidation and violence.
The 2007 law has been challenged in court repeatedly. An earlier version of the law was ruled constitutional in 2001 and 2004 also by the 1st US District Court of Appeals. When the law was revised in 2007, it was appealed and upheld in 2009.
The Supreme Court will revisit this decision during its next session, which starts in October. The case is McCullen v. Coakley, 12-1168.
6/24/2013 - Supreme Court Sends Affirmative Action Case Back to Appeals Court
Today the Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case on the affirmative action program at the University of Texas at Austin campus, deciding to send the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for further scrutiny in a seven to one decision.
The case,Fisher v. University of Texas, which comes from a Caucasian student claiming to have been denied admissions at the University of Texas at Austin on account of her race, could "eliminate diversity as a rationale sufficient to justify any use of race in admission decisions." The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit previously ruled in favor of the University of Texas, indicating that the university had not violated the civil or constitutional rights of the plaintiffs.
The opinion [PDF], written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, argues that the Fifth Circuit did not review the program with sufficient scrutiny as required by the Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger. The Grutter case ruled that affirmative action programs in university admissions were constitutional provided the program takes into account multiple qualifications "of which racial or ethnic origin is but a single though important element." Kennedy also wrote that the UT Austin program could only be considered constitutional if the university could prove "no workable race-neutral alternatives would produce the educational benefits of diversity."
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented from the majority opinion, believing that the Court should have upheld the decision in favor of UT Austin. In her dissent, she wrote [PDF] "I have several times explained why government actors,including state universities, need not be blind to the lingering effects of 'an overtly discriminatory past,' the legacy of 'centuries of law-sanctioned inequality.'" Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case.
6/24/2013 - Six Year Old Transgender Student Wins Right to Use Preferred Bathroom
The Colorado Civil Rights Division has determined that an elementary school cannot bar a transgender student from using their preferred bathroom.
The case comes in response to a complaint lodged by the parents of Coy Mathius, a six year old child who was assigned male at birth and identifies as female, when Eagleside Elementary School refused to let Coy use the girls' bathroom. The school said that Coy could use the boy's bathroom or a gender-neutral staff bathroom. The Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 supported the school's decision.
In a strongly-worded decision, the Colorado Civil Rights Division found that the Fountain-Ford district had violated a 2008 anti-discrimination statute that included protections for transgender individuals. The division director Steven Chavez wrote in the decision, "that she must disregard her identity while performing one of the most essential human functions constitutes severe and pervasive treatment, and creates an environment that is objectively and subjectively hostile, intimidating or offensive." He continued arguing that the district's actions "creates a barrier where none should exist, and entirely disregards the charging party's gender identity."
Kathryn Mathias, Coy's mother who has also home-schooled Coy since the case started, told reporters, "When I told Coy we won, she got this giant smile and her eyes bugged out. She said, 'So I can go to school and make friends?'"
6/21/2013 - Senator Lisa Murkowski Endorses Same-Sex Marriage
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski came out in support of same-sex marriage Wednesday during an interview with Anchorage television station KTUU. She also posted an op-ed about her position on her Senate website.
In her op-ed, Murkowski explained her "evolution" on the issue with a story about a lesbian military couple from Alaska who had adopted four children in 2007 to begin a family, but suffered because they could not have their relationship or family recognized by state law. When she met them that year, she realized that "this first-class Alaskan family still lives a second-class existence."
Murkwoski also explained that she feels same-sex marriage for lesbian and gay couples falls in line with her values as a Republican, stating:
"I am a life-long Republican because I believe in promoting freedom and limiting the reach of government. When government does act, I believe it should encourage family values. I support the right of all Americans to marry the person they love and choose because I believe doing so promotes both values: it keeps politicians out of the most private and personal aspects of peoples' lives – while also encouraging more families to form and more adults to make a lifetime commitment to one another."
Murkowski is the third Republican Senator to announce support for marriage equality this year. She is the first female Republican Senator to do so.
6/21/2013 - "People’s Filibuster" in Texas Successfully Blocks Anti-Choice Legislation
Over 700 Texans last night successfully blocked HB 60, a state bill that would shut down all but 5 abortion providers in the state, from passing in the state House as part of a "people's filibuster." The legislation passed through the Senate Tuesday.
HB 60 requires abortion clinics act as ambulatory service centers, work with doctors who have hospital admitting privileges, and schedule two in-person visits with women seeking abortions prior to the performance of the procedure. A fetal pain clause was dropped. The legislation was added to the Texas house's special session calendar by Governor Rick Perry.
700 citizens who appeared at the hearing to give testimony came to share personal stories and policy-based opinions were told at midnight by House State Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Byron Cook (R-Cosicana) that they would no longer be heard because their words were becoming "repetitive." Citizens continued speaking with or without committee members present, and eventually were given more chances to speak. "Our words are not repetitive," Lesli Simms testified. "Our government's attacks on our choice, on our bodies, is repetitive."
Rep. Byron terminated debate without a vote early Friday morning. Over seven hours of testimony in total were heard by the committee. The special session closes on June 25.
6/21/2013 - Supreme Court Deems Anti-Prostitution Clause Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday with a six-justice majority that the "Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath" (APLO) in the 2003 United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria act violated the First Amendment and was unconstitutional. The APLO required groups receiving government funds to fight HIV/AIDS around the globe to adopt policies opposing prostitution and human trafficking.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, who wrote the decision for the majority, worried that the APLO "may alienate certain host governments, and may diminish the effectiveness of some of their programs." Marine Buissonniere, who directs the group Open Society Public Health Program opposing the APLO, agrees. "Public health groups cannot tell sex workers that we 'oppose them'," she said, "yet expect them to be partners in preventing HIV."
Groups within the United States will no longer be required to agree to the APLO to receive funding for work done abroad. Groups from overseas may still be required to agree. Research presented at the July 2012 International AIDS Conference found that the APLO hurt US HIV programs by encouraging groups to limit or eliminate programs that targeted sex workers in fear of losing their funding.
Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor came together for the majority decision Thursday. Justices Scalia and Thomas dissented. Justice Kagan recused herself from the case.
6/20/2013 - Delaware Legislature Passes Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act
The Delaware Legislature passed the Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act Wednesday, adding gender identity as a protected nondiscrimination category alongside race, age, religion, and sexual orientation.
The bill passed in the Delaware House Tuesday and yesterday passed in the Senate with a vote of 11-9. Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law that evening, stating that discrimination against transgender people is "inherently wrong."
"The Delaware Legislature sent a clear message today," said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin, "that transgender residents deserve to be treated equally and protected under the law."
Supporters of the legislation say the law is necessary because transgender individuals may be straight or gay and thus not all are protected under current anti-discrimination laws. The legislation will also allow for Delaware’s hate crimes law to include punishments for targeting someone based on their gender identity.
Delaware is the 17th state to protect transgender individuals from discrimination under the law.
6/20/2013 - Personhood Ohio Raising Funds with Assault Rifle Auction
Patrick Johnston, founder of the anti-choice group Personhood Ohio, sent an email this past weekend to members asking them to purchase assault rifles and ammunition as part of a new fundraising effort for the organization.
"I'm selling some of my favorite things," he wrote. “Some powerful rifles and ammo.” He put three firearms and 2,550 rounds of ammunition on his Facebook page for auction, including two Chinese SKS rifles and a MAK 90. Both weapons use the same type of ammunition as an AK-47. Two rifles include high capacity magazines. One includes a drum of 100 rounds.
In the email, Johnston also encouraged group members to sell their own prized possessions, suggesting selling jewelry and other valuables to produce funds for donation to Personhood Ohio. "I told my wife just recently," he wrote, "'We get rewarded based on how much we sacrifice.'"
As an additional incentive, Johnston in the same email offers members the chance to win $5,000 if they send a $25 gift to the organization or get 25 signatures on a personhood petition. A diagram asks, "What Would You Do with $5,000 Dollars?" and includes "buy some guns!" as a suggestion.
In 2011, Plunderbund reported that Johnston had written a novel "fantasizing about American anti-abortion heroes killing evil, foreign abortionists." He has also admitted to wanting the United States to become a theocracy.
6/19/2013 - House Passes 20 Week Abortion Ban
Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a nationwide abortion ban after 20 weeks gestation in a vote of 228 to 196.
The Pain Capable Child Protection Act would ban abortions after 20 weeks gestation except to save a woman's life. Victims of rape and incest are also exempt provided that they first report their assault to police. This is a change from the original bill which made no exception for rape or incest. There is still no exception to protect a woman's health or in cases of fetal abnormality.
The bill was approved in a mostly party-line vote. Only six Democrats and six Republicans voted differently from the rest of their party.
Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said "[This bill] shows a distrust of women and a lack of the reality of sexual assault." Representative Louise Slaughter (D_NY) told reporters "Forty years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed that women in America have the constitutional right to make their own health care decisions without the government getting involved. Today, instead of focusing on creating jobs and improving our economy, the House majority is once again playing doctor and trying to tell American women what they can and can't do, despite what the Constitution tells them they can do."
Ilyse Hogue of NARAL Pro-choice America told reporters, "Their relentless campaign to outlaw abortion will encourage more criminals like Kermit Gosnell. They will not stop until they completely undermine the ability of women to make personal, private medical decisions with their doctors." Vicki Saporta, President of the National Abortion Federation, said in a statement, "This bill dangerously jeopardizes the health and well-being of women in the United States who need abortion care later in pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Legislators cannot know the circumstances of every woman and her pregnancy, and should not interfere in personal, private medical decisions."
The bill has little to no chance of advancing passed the Democrat-controlled Senate, and if it were to pass President Obama has announced he will veto the legislation. In a statement released [PDF] on Monday, the administration said "The Administration is continuing its efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, expand access to contraception, support maternal and child health, and minimize the need for abortion. At the same time, the Administration is committed to the protection of women's health and reproductive freedom and to supporting women and families in the choices they make."
6/18/2013 - Supreme Court Strikes Down Proof of Citizenship Voter Requirements
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed register to vote.
In an opinion written [PDF] by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court ruled that the Arizona statute violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, also known as the "Motor Voter Law") of 1993, which created a federal form that individuals can mail in to register to vote in federal elections. No proof of citizenship is required to complete the form, however each applicant must sign that he or she is a citizen of the United States under penalty of perjury. Scalia wrote, "We conclude that the fairest reading of the statute is that a state-imposed requirement of evidence of citizenship not required by the Federal Form is 'inconsistent with' the NVRA's mandate that States 'accept and use' the Federal Form." He continued, "The states' role in regulating congressional elections - while weighty and worthy of respect - has always existed subject to the express qualification that it terminates according to federal law."
Justice Kennedy concurred with six other justices, but submitted his own opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the majority ruling, arguing that states had the final right to determine voter eligibility, even in federal elections, and can request supplemental information to confirm a person's eligibility respectively.
The ruling calls into question similar laws in four other states - Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, and Tennessee. Although the ruling prohibits requiring proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, the Court determined that a state may still require proof of citizenship for eligibility to vote in state/local elections.
6/17/2013 - Texas Air Force Recruiter Sentenced to 27 Years in Sexual Assault Scandal
Technical Sergeant Jaime Rodriguez was sentenced Friday to 27 years in prison for sexually assaulting over 20 women during his 13-year tenure in the Air Force. Rodriguez, 34, was a recruiter at Lackland Air Force Base who worked frequently with high school students seeking careers in the military branch. 18 women testified against him in the case.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to six charges and 23 cases of wrongdoing and was convicted by a jury on charges of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact, abusive sexual contact, wrongful sexual contact, indecent exposure, and non-forcible sodomy. Jurors acquitted him of charges of rape and forcible sodomy. He faced up to 116 years in prison.
Rodriguez's sentence is the longest prison term to date in an Air Force scandal.
During his hearing, Rodriguez revealed patterns of sexually violent and abusive behavior which he initiated with victims as young as 17. According to his testimony, he would often initiate or attempt to initiate sexual relationships with recruits upon their first meeting at his Houston-area office, following up his flirtatious behavior with texts, phone calls, and Yahoo! instant messages about sex and sometimes containing graphic sexual imagery. He would attempt to make clear during these liaisons that the victims were not to talk to people about what was happening. Many women left the Air Force or pursued careers in other branches of the armed forces after their experiences with Rodriguez.
"I was very innocent and naive," one victim testified. She was on active duty when Rodriguez and another recruiter began asking her sexually explicit questions on her second day in the force. "I had never been in a situation like that before," she added on the stand.
Another victim received, according to records, 934 phone calls or text messages from Rodriguez between September and October 2011. These were made from his government-issued cell phone. "It became more, like, predatory," she testified, explaining that he had been professional during their initial meeting but then began frequently contacting her. Her mother eventually discovered suggestive images on her cell phone, including a photograph of Rodriguez in his boxers, which she found "disturbing." According to a Marine recruiter, Rodriguez later sought to create and send fraudulent email correspondence from her mother claiming that she wouldn’t press charges.
In addition to Rodriguez’s prison sentence, he was reduced in rank to the lowest in the Air Force of airman basic. He will be dishonorably discharged once he leaves prison. He will forfeit all pay and allowances.
6/17/2013 - NASA Selects 8 New Astronauts, Half are Women
On Monday, the National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) announced eight new astronaut trainees. The trainees, half of whom are women, will train to explore low-Earth orbit, an asteroid, and Mars starting in August.
The eight candidates were selected from over 6,100 applicants, the second largest amount NASA has ever received. According to a press release from NASA, the biographies for the four women are as follows:
"Christina M. Hammock, 34, calls Jacksonville, N.C. home. Hammock holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. She currently is serving as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Station Chief in American Samoa.
Nicole Aunapu Mann, 35, Major, U.S. Marine Corps, originally is from Penngrove, Calif. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Stanford (Calif.) University and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Md. Mann is an F/A 18 pilot, currently serving as an Integrated Product Team Lead at the U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River.
Anne C. McClain, 34, Major, U.S. Army, lists her hometown as Spokane, Wash. She is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; the University of Bath and the University of Bristol, both in the United Kingdom. McClain is an OH-58 helicopter pilot, and a recent graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River.
Jessica U. Meir, Ph.D., 35 is from Caribou, Maine. She is a graduate of Brown University, has an advanced degree from the International Space University, and earned her doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Meir currently is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston."
As of today, only 57 of the 534 people who have flown in space have been women. Currently there are 12 active female astronauts as part of NASA.
6/14/2013 - Virginia Healthcare Center Challenges State's TRAP Laws
Falls Church Healthcare Center filed an appeal Monday against the Virginia Board of Health, the Department of Health, and Virginia State Health Commissioner Cynthia Romer over the TRAP regulations that were approved in April requiring clinics performing over five abortions a year to meet new building regulations.
The appeal claims that the Board of Health violated Governor Bob McDonnell's executive order requiring state agencies to take into account how regulations impact small businesses and make alternatives possible. Following the new regulations, which include changes like making additional parking available, replacing existing ceilings, and adding showers to all facilities for staff members, would cost the center over 60,000 dollars according to its Director, Rosemary Codding. Codding claims her Christian faith motivated her to challenge the new requirements so that women could continue to rely on her center for medical care.
The center describes the legislation's requirements as "onerous" and "impossible." They claim the requirements aren't based on medical need or sound medical practice. Their appeal focuses on the advice of medical doctors, which the Board of Health ignored in order to put the approved set of regulations in place.
The Falls Church Healthcare Center is expected to comply with the new regulations because they perform over five first trimester abortions each year. Unlike hospitals, healthcare practices like theirs are not eligible for permanent waivers when such regulations impose hardships on their establishments. Many advocates for abortion providers called Virginia's new regulations a "back door" method for banning abortion, but Codding feels more strongly.
"I don't think it's a back door," she told WUSA9. "I think it's a full front assault on women's health."
6/14/2013 - Women of Senate Vow to Continue Fight Against Military Sexual Assault
Various women in the Senate have vowed to continue the fight against military sexual assault despite Senator Carl Levin's announcement Tuesday that he would be removing a provision in the defense spending bill that would take sexually violent cases out of the chain of command.
Speaking to MSNBC's Chris Hayes Wednesday, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said, "You know, for 20 long years, various secretaries of defense have said these words: 'We have zero tolerance for this kind of activity in the military and were not going to allow it.' And every single secretary of defense never made the changes. We have to make the changes."
"It's very disappointing," she continued, "but I have to tell you - what they did today is embrace the status quo instead of embracing the victims and using this as an opportunity to bring needed change."
Levin claimed removing prosecution from the chain of command for sexually violent crimes would "weaken" response to sexual assault within each branch of the armed forces. But Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) disagreed with him, saying, "men and women who are brutally raped and assaulted in the military don't believe there's a possibility of justice."
It is estimated that over 26,000 men and women in the military experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2012. Of those cases, only 3,374 were reported and only 302 of the incidents were prosecuted.
Boxer insists she and her colleagues, which include a bipartisan coalition of 27 Senators who backed her original legislation removing prosecution from the chain of command, will continue to advocate for her language in the defense bill. "We're going to fight to get it done we are going to get our day on the full Senate floor," she told Hayes.
6/14/2013 - Teacher Fired for Being a Survivor of Domestic Violence
Second-grade teacher Carie Charlesworth was fired by Holy Trinity School in San Diego because of the events that followed her reporting her husband's domestic abuse. Her termination, which took full effect in April, has prompted her to speak out against the district's decision.
School officials sent Charlesworth a letter on April 11 terminating her 14-year tenure as a second-grade teacher, citing concerns about her husband's "threatening and menacing behavior." In January, she went on leave after a situation in which she called the police to report her husband three times. The next day, her abuser appeared in the school's parking lot and sent the school into lockdown. At that moment, Charlesworth and her four children were put on indefinite leave from teaching or attending the Diocese school. Three months later, she was told by the school that they "simply cannot allow" her to return to work. Her children no longer attend the school.
"They've taken away my ability to care for my kids," Charlesworth told local news reporters at KNSD, sharing her anxieties about finding another position before her salary ends in August. "I mean that's why women of domestic violence don't come forward," she added, "because they're afraid of the way people are going to see them, view them, perceive them, treat them."
In 2011, a study commissioned by Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center revealed that 40 percent of domestic violence survivors in California report being fired or fearing termination. Charlesworth is no longer allowed to teach at any other Diocesan school.
6/13/2013 - House Committee Advances Nationwide Abortion Ban
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee voted 20 to 12 along party lines to approve a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks nationwide. The bill now goes before the full House of Representatives, and could be brought up for debate as early as next week.
The bill, called the Pain Capable Child Protection Act, is sponsored by Trent Franks (R-AZ), and originally applied only to the District of Columbia. However, Franks decided to expand the bill nationwide following the murder conviction of Kermit Gosnell, a rogue doctor who performed illegal abortions in Pennsylvania. The bill does not include exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal abnormality, but does include an exception to save the life of the woman. Franks has introduced the bill in previous sessions of Congress, but it was defeated.
During the committee debate, sponsor Franks echoed other conservative lawmakers in their understanding of rape. Franks successfully dissuaded fellow lawmakers from amending the bill to include an exception from rape by arguing that "the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low." This shows striking similarity to Representative Todd Akin's remark last year, that "...from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."
6/13/2013 - WI Senate Advances Transvaginal Ultrasound, TRAP Bill
After intense but brief debate, the Wisconsin state Senate approved a bill that could mandate transvaginal ultrasounds before an abortion and impose unnecessary regulations on abortion clinics. The bill, SB 206 [PDF] was approved in a vote of 17 to 15 along party lines.
If the bill becomes law, women seeking an abortion will be forced to view an ultrasound and have a physician or ultrasound technician describe the fetus and it's stage of development in detail. For women who are early in a pregnancy, this could mean having to go through a transvaginal ultrasound to even view the fetus. There is also no provisions in the bill about funding for the mandatory ultrasounds, creating a financial barrier for some women. Supporters of the bill argue that women can find clinics that offer free ultrasounds before their procedures. Many of these clinics are Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) which use medically inaccurate information and religious ideology to pressure women to carry their pregnancies to term.
In addition to requiring women to view an ultrasound, SB 206 also requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility. This could close Planned Parenthood of Appleton, which is one of the only four abortion clinics in the entire state. Admitting privileges are not required to transfer a patient to a hospital in case of an emergency.
The bill goes before the Wisconsin Assembly on Thursday where it is expected to pass. Governor Scott Walker has said that will sign the measure into law if it comes before his desk.
