Daily Feminist News: This Week

Dr. Tiller Vindicated

7/3/2008 - A Kansas Grand Jury adjourned on Wednesday without finding substantial evidence that Dr Tiller, a late-term abortion provider, violated any abortion laws. The Wichita Eagle reports that the grand jury was forced to convene by an anti-choice group, Kansas for Life. Kansas is one of six states that allow citizens to petition to convene a grand jury.

The District Attorney told the Wichita Eagle, "After six months of conducting an investigation … this Grand Jury has not found sufficient evidence to bring an indictment on any crime related to the abortion laws." The grand jury investigation had previously come before the Kansas Supreme Court over its attempts to subpoena confidential patient medical records.

Dr. Tiller is one of only a few late-term abortion providers in the country. According to Kansas and federal law, an abortion can only be performed after the 22 weeks if carrying the fetus to term would cause the woman "substantial and irreversible impairment," according to KWCH News. Dr. Tiller has consistently been targeted by anti-choice groups.

Federal Court Rules Graphic Abortion Images are Protected Speech

7/3/2008 - The Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that anti-choice activists who displayed graphic images on a truck circling a middle school are protected by the first amendment. According to the Los Angeles Times, the anti-choice group, the "Center for Bio-Ethical Reform," drove a truck around Dobson Middle School in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, while students were arriving. The truck displayed 7-by-20 foot photos of aborted fetuses.

NKBC News reports that the assistant principle called the police after noting that several students were upset and teachers were having difficulty getting students into their classrooms. The Assistant Principle also prevented students from throwing rocks at the truck. The police searched the truck and asked the drivers to leave the area.

The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that this violated the defendant’s first amendments rights to free speech. The opinion noted "It would… be an unprecedented departure from bedrock First Amendment principles to allow the government to restrict speech based on listener reaction." The court also ruled that the police cannot be punished for their actions because they reasonably believed their conduct to be legal, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Federal Abstinence Only Funding Refused by Twenty-Two States and D.C.

7/2/2008 - Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have refused millions of federal dollars allotted for abstinence-only education programs for the upcoming fiscal year. According to the Associated Press, only 28 states still accept Title V funding.

The Administration of Children and Families also reports that Arizona and Iowa will not participate as of fiscal year 2010, according to RH Reality Check. SIECUS calculations indicate nearly $24 million will be turned down nation-wide this year.

Until September 2005, California was the only state to refuse funding. The nearly 40 percent drop in acceptance is attributed to rampant distrust of the program's effectiveness and constant uncertainty regarding the program's renewal.

Congress is currently considering an extension of the funding.

Anti-Choice Activists Force Builder to Drop Planned Parenthood Project

7/2/2008 - Walsh Construction Company in Portland dropped a project to build a Planned Parenthood this week, citing pressure from anti-choice activists. Owner Bob Walsh left the project out of concern his family would be threatened, not based on moral judgment, reports The Oregonian.

Others involved in the project have already been subjected to office protests from anti-choice protesters. Bill Diss, a protest organizer, referrers to Planned Parenthood as a "killing center" that teaches young girls about sex and masturbation, which he referred to as "the gateway drug to lust," according to The Register-Guard.

Despite increasing pressure, Beech Street Partners, the original developer will act as its own contractor and hire builders to complete the project by July 2009. The space will be used for medical clinics and will host Planned Parenthood's regional headquarters. It will bring an estimated 140 jobs to the neighborhood.

Massachusetts State Senator Arrested for Sexually Harassing Four Women

7/2/2008 - A grand jury indicted Massachusetts State Senator James Marzilli on Tuesday for allegedly sexually harassing four women in June.

Senator Marzilli has served in the Massachusetts House for 17 years, and was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in a special election last year. The Boston Globe, reports that the Senator accosted four separate women in Lowell, MA. on June 3.

The Associated Press reports that the Senator made sexually explicit remarks to all of the women and attempted to touch one of them. He has announced that he will not seek reelection.

Need Based Federal Student Loan Rates Cut Today

7/1/2008 - The College Cost Reduction and Access Act went into effect today, cutting interest rates on federal student loans. The Act, H.Res.2669, lowers interest rates on federal student loans from 6.8 percent to 6.0 percent and will ultimately decrease these rates to 3.4 percent over the next four years.

Aside from interest rate cuts, the Act also increases the maximum award available through Pell Grants and seeks to provide a decreased burden on those entering public service professions through expanded tuition assistance and loan forgiveness programs.

"The Democratic Congress believes that making college more affordable is one of the most important things we can do to invest in our nation's future and build a stronger middle class. This first interest rate cut is just the beginning of our efforts to remove the many financial barriers that prevent far too many qualified students from being able to pursue a college degree," said House Committee on Education and Labor chair George Miller in a press release.

Federal Court Lifts Injunction on South Dakota Anti-Abortion Law

7/1/2008 - The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals removed an injunction on Friday against a South Dakota law requiring doctors to inform patients seeking an abortion that the procedure would "terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." According to the Planned Parenthood press release, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Federations of South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota, sued the state when the South Dakota legislature passed the law in 2005. They argue that this law is unconstitutional. A federal District Court granted an injunction that prevented the law from being implemented until the case was decided. However, the law will now be enforced because the injunction was removed on Friday.

The case will be sent back to the US District Court, according to the Women’s Daily Health Report. The majority opinion claimed that Planned Parenthood failed to demonstrate that the required statement is "ideological, untruthful, misleading or irrelevant to the woman's decision."

Cecil Rhodes, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said "We believe women should always be able to get accurate, unbiased information about their health care." A 2007 press release on the same case explained that "Just as the government has no power to advocate a certain religion, states' powers do not extend to promoting certain lines of moral thought."

Bush Withholds Funding from UN Population Fund

6/30/2008 - President Bush announced Thursday that he would withhold funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the seventh year in a row. According to OneWorld UK, President Bush withheld $39.7 million authorized by Congress for the UNFPA. This brings the total amount withheld over the past seven years to $235 million.

UNFPA supports voluntary family planning and reproductive health programs in 154 countries. Its program is supported by voluntary donations from member countries. According to PlanetWire the United States is the only country to withhold UNFPA funding for political reasons.

PlanetWire reports that John Negroponte, Deputy Secretary of State, justified President Bush’s decision by claiming that the UNFPA supports "coercive abortions and sterilization." Ms. magazine reports that this false allegation originated in a 2001 statement from a privately funded US anti-choice group. This claim has been conclusively disproved by several state department investigations, blue-ribbon commission investigations, and three international monitoring teams according to OneWorld UK and Ms. magazine.

Supreme Court Cites Sixth Amendment to Discount Testimony of Murdered Domestic Abuse Victim

6/30/2008 - The Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a lower court ruling which allowed the previously recorded testimony of a murdered domestic abuse victim to be used as evidence in the trial of her alleged killer. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the case involved a California man who was found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend after she reported domestic violence to the police. Her report had been included as evidence in the murder trial, however the court ruled that this violates the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser.

The Washington Post reports that Justices Breyer, Stevens and Kennedy dissented. Justices Ginsberg and Souter joined the majority, but suggested a way that such evidence could be admitted. According to precedent, a defendant forfeits his/her right to confront an accuser when the defendant prevents the accuser from testifying through intimidation. Justices Ginsberg and Souter suggested that prosecutors could argue that a pattern of domestic abuse qualifies as intimidation, and therefore the testimony of the victim could be included.