“We’d all like to come to a point in time where abortion is really not necessary and there are no unwanted pregnancies. But unfortunately, history tells us that making abortions illegal does not eliminate abortion. I think we have to give the women of this state the right to deal with their own bodies and their own health care. We can’t solve complex social issues by state legislation. I don’t think we’ll eliminate abortion by telling women the state will control all reproduction. I think what will happen is we will have abortions that are illegal and unsafe.”
-Jack Billion, a Democrat running for Governor in South Dakota
Reproductive Rights
House passes bill about teaching abortion in schools – AP
High school students [in Kansas] could get a more graphic explanation about abortion procedures, including whether a fetus would feel any pain during the procedure, under a bill that passed the House. The 77-48 vote Friday on the measure, which started out dealing with reporting abortion statistics, returns the bill the Senate to consider the House changes. When the bill was debated Thursday, Rep. Jan Pauls [a Democrat] amended it to say any discussion about abortion must include a description of all methods of abortion, including what state law calls partial birth abortion. The information must include “the probable physical sensations of pain a fetus feels or detects” during the various procedures.
Idaho Senate To Debate Informed Abortion Consent Bill – KBCI
The Senate next week will debate new provisions to a 1983 Idaho law that requires women to wait 24 hours before having an abortion and be told by doctors about their fetuses and the procedure’s potential complications. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted unanimously Friday to send the amended informed consent bill to the floor for debate. The changes are meant to allow doctors to skirt the waiting period and information requirements in the case of medical emergencies.
Abortion likely to be issue in gubernatorial campaign – AP
The issue of abortion is likely to be discussed in South Dakota’s gubernatorial campaign this year, particularly if an abortion ban passed by the Legislature gets referred to a statewide public vote in November. Gov. Mike Rounds, who is seeking re-election, signed the bill, which was designed to prompt a court challenge in an attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court reverse its Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in 1973. The bill would ban all abortions except when necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.
General
Gang-Rape Allegations Roil Duke, Durham – LA Times
The campus of Duke University has been awash in protests and soul-searching over allegations from a police investigation involving the school lacrosse team: that a black exotic dancer performed at a party attended by members of the team, most of whom are white; that the party grew rowdy and racial slurs were uttered; and that she was cornered, choked and gang-raped.
More Than 80 Percent of College Women Diet – HealthDay News
While dieting is a common practice among college women, a new study has found that 83 percent of them diet no matter how much they weigh. Worse, skipping breakfast and smoking are often the unhealthy techniques they use to try to reach their ideal size, said Brenda M. Malinauskas, lead author of the study, which appears in the March 31 online issue of Nutrition Journal. She and her team polled 185 women college students, aged 18 to 24, about their dieting practices and physical activity. “I was a little bit surprised about the high percentage of women dieting,” said Malinauskas, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition and hospitality management at East Carolina University, in Greenville, N.C.
In the Workplace
Mint settles with female workers – Denver Post
A class action lawsuit against the U.S. Mint in Denver has been settled for $9 million dollars. Female employees at the Mint had alleged they were the targets of sexual discrimination, harassment and retaliation. In addition to the $8,990,900 payment for damages, fees and costs to the 32 permanent and temporary female Mint employees, the terms include the appointment of an independent monitor at the Denver Mint for three years.
Pregnancy Discrimination Suit Filed Against SFO Screening Co. – BCN
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit today against a private airport screening company that alleges that a pregnant employee was discriminated against based on her gender. The EEOC has sued Covenant Aviation Security, a company that provides airport screening and baggage handling services at San Francisco International Airport. The lawsuit alleges that Covenant discriminated against pregnant employee Vanessa Calderon when the company would not accommodate Calderon’s doctor’s request that she not have to work the X-ray machine. Covenant would not modify Calderon’s usual work responsibilities to eliminate operation of the X-ray machine, which can create health risks for fetuses, according to the EEOC. Instead, Calderon was laid off, the EEOC reported. Covenant regularly made accommodations for other employees who were not pregnant and who had temporary medical conditions, according to the EEOC.
International
Woman Joins Presidential Race in Peru – AP
When the rocks started raining down on her campaign caravan, Lourdes Flores didn’t flinch. She kept her smile and forged ahead on the back of a pickup truck, protected by a plastic shield held by an aide. Flores, a single 46-year-old former legislator in a tight race to become Peru’s first woman president, was in enemy territory, a town on the cold, bleak Andean plain bordering Bolivia.
Men told: it could be rape if a woman is too drunk to say no – Telegraph
Men could be convicted of rape if they have sex with women who are too drunk to give their consent under proposals outlined by the UK Government yesterday. Tightening the law on consent was one of four proposals put forward in a consultation paper aimed at increasing the proportion of reported rapes that result in convictions – presently under six per cent.
