Watershed Moment in Gay Rights Movement

  In the next couple of days, the Boy Scouts of America Association is expected to announce whether it plans to alter its longstanding national policy against the inclusion of openly gay members.   Parents of Scouts have voiced their concerns, saying the inclusion of gay members goes against the teachings of the organization ...

Political Shifting May Affect America’s Legal Plan on Gay Marriage

  Lawyers often opine: the practice of law would be far more pleasant if clients were not involved. It is one thing to present an articulate legal argument and quite another to capitulate to the demands of illogical human beings.   Case in point, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr’s most famous client—President ...

Gay Rights at the Forefront in Immigration Debate

  In his final prominent act as senator, newly-appointed Secretary of State John Kerry sought to resolve a global dilemma. Kerry filed Senate Bill 48, which seeks permanent resident status for Genesio Januario Oliveira—a gay Brazilian national who is facing deportation from the United States because he does not qualify for ...

Texas Family Planning Cuts Cost Big Bucks

A plan to save money on family planning clinics in Texas has failed after budget cuts of $73 million was projected to lead to cost increases of $273 million in the same time period, according to state legislators.  Now, the statehouse is scrambling to figure out a plan for re-funding family planning in Texas that won't anger ...

North Dakota Law May Shutter State's Last Abortion Clinic

  The State of North Dakota angered reproductive rights advocates last week after passing several new laws designed to curtail abortion in the state.  Currently, the state of North Dakota is one of several in the United States that has only one abortion clinic remaining.  Abortion rights advocates warn that the sole abortion ...

Violence Against Women Act Passes Senate

  The nation's most important law focusing on the safety of women, VAWA (the Violence Against Women Act) was reauthorized by the United States Senate today after having been allowed to lapse for over a month. The bill, which has yet to pass the House of Representatives, saw a landslide victory in the Senate, with 78 Senators ...

Bill Aims To End Federal Funding For Abortion Providers

  Reproductive justice advocates have expressed concern over a bill proposed in the first day of the new 113th Congress.  The bill would cut all Title X federal taxpayer funding to organizations that provide abortion services or referrals to abortion practitioners. Federal laws already prohibit any funding of abortions ...

Illinois Senate Backs Gay Marriage

With a Valentine’s Day vote, the Illinois Senate backed a bill on Thursday that would formally legalize same-sex marriage, positioning the home state of President Barack Obama inches closer to becoming the 10th in the nation—along with Washington D.C.--to allow gay couples the right to marry.     The vote passed ...

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act No Longer in Repeal Danger

  Barack Obama's first act upon taking office in January 2009 was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  The law, which was designed to give women better access to legal options when they discovered pay discrimination at their workplace, became something of a controversy during the 2012 campaign.  Democrats alleged ...

Abortion Law Criticised in Ireland as Pregnant Woman Dies

  Dublin's top lawmakers are facing intense criticism after Ireland's strict abortion laws led to an Indian woman's death in a Galway hospital.  Sativa Halappanavar was just 31 years old when complications led to her death and the death of her 17 week old fetus. Doctors determined that Halappanavar was miscarrying ...

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