Tag: domestic violence

Three Utah lawmakers are putting on hold their attempt to ban abortion in the state, due to Utah lacking funds to defend such a law in court, but are instead attempting to create a law that would set up a legal defense fund for supporters to donate money for the eventual court battle that would follow a statewide abortion ban: (via Salt Lake Tribune).

Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn addresses the recent media attention to the Johns Hopkins Study that found virginity-pledging teens were no more likely to abstain from sexual behavior than like-minded peers, noting that much of the media focus has left out a crucial part of the study, that more conservative and religious teens did in fact delay sexual activity, but that the "pledge" made no significant difference in behavior.

A University of Wisconsin clinic may begin to provide 2nd trimester abortions following the recent retirement of the area's only provider of 2nd trimester abortions, though the anti-choice groups Alliance Defense Fund and Pro-Life Wisconsin are protesting the decision and threatening legal action to prevent the clinic from performing the procedure: (via Chicago Tribune).

New research from UC Berkeley suggests that pregnant women who take maternity leave before they give birth are four times less likely to require a costly Caesarean section when they go into labor: (via Contra Costa Times).

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna plans to ask lawmakers to approve an increase in prison sentences for domestic violence perpetrators that have a record of misdemeanor abuse: (via Tri City Herald).

Planned Parenthood of Idaho has merged with organizations in Washington and Alaska to create Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest; no jobs were lost in the merger which was reportedly done to allocate more resources to health care centers: (via Seattle Times).

Due to a state Supreme Court case Tennessee has stronger abortion protections than most states; however the Tennessee legislature is considering a constitutional  amendment to specify nothing in state law explicitly protects the right to abortion, a process that will take six years and eventually require a two-thirds Congressional majority and vote by the people to pass: (via Tennessean).

A New York Times article examines the Army's dysfunction in addressing domestic violence among its soldiers, and one woman's struggle to get the U.S. Army to prosecute and treat her ex-husband for the domestic violence that occurred during their relationship.

An opinion piece in Slate magazine discusses Catholic officials' distress over the possibility of President-Elect Obama signing the Freedom of Choice Act, legislation that is admittedly unlikely to see the president's desk in the near future.

Longtime abortion opponents Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. and former congressman Timothy J. Roemer have endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, saying he has the unique skills to foster a sense of common ground and achieve a new consensus on the issue (via Washington Post).  

An Arizona House committee has voted to approve a ban on so-called "partial birth" abortion in the state, less than a week after Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) vetoed a similar but not identical bill (via Arizona Star).  

President Bush's 2009 budget will severely reduce services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault by slashing $120 million from services funded by the Violence Against Women Act and $2 million from the Victims of Crime Act fund (via All American Patriots).  

Feministing has further coverage of the insidious mandatory ultrasound and "informed consent" requirements included in Oklahoma's recently passed anti-choice omnibus bill, which is opposed by the Oklahoma State Medical Association because it interferes with the practice of medicine.

The Washington Times reports that advisers to Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain says he will not "soften" the Republican Party's position on abortion ahead of the Republican National Convention and will not work against the party's call for a constitutional amendment banning abortions.  

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has signed a new law allowing victims of domestic violence to break rental contracts without punishment, removing a hurdle that often prevented victims from leaving abusive relationships (via Wasau Daily Herald).

Now an advocacy and audit director at the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Denver, Saucedo was paralyzed at 14 when his mother's companion shot and killed her and wounded him

Now an advocacy and audit director at the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Denver, Saucedo was paralyzed at 14 when his mother's companion shot and killed her and wounded him