In a clear victory for women’s reproductive health clinics, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear an appeal by anti-abortion protestors who were claiming that the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) that protects clinics against disruptive intrusions should be interpreted instead to protect those who attempt to obstruct access to clinics. “To construe the FACE Act to protect anti-abortion protestors’ illegal behavior would turn the statute on its head and convert a law intended to shield clinics from hostile attacks into a sword for those who would engage in such attacks,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, in hailing the Court’s decision. The Feminist Majority Foundation provided legal counsel for the clinic involved in the case. On Monday, the Court also refused to hear a challenge to FACE stemming from a New Jersey case involving clinic blockades. FACE has been crucial in curbing anti-abortion violence, according to the Feminist Majority Foundation and its National Clinic Access Project.
Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation and Aware Woman Center – April 20, 2001
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
