Rape Definition Expands; Female Detainees Abused

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More News to Jeer This Week: A for-profit tabloid, The Koala, which has circulated on the Cal State San Marcos campus since January 2011, promotes violence against women and girls, rape, pedophilia, homophobia and bias against people of color and those with disabilities and illness, according Change.org. The group launched a petition Oct. 21 asking the university administration to speak out against The Koala and impose distribution regulations. In Latin America, only about half of women are affiliated with any political party reported The Miami Herald Oct. 20. A recent study shows that when women do run for office, they're less likely to be elected than men and they still hold relatively few key positions in political parties. In Wisconsin, Senate Bill 92, which continues the state's prohibition on taxpayer dollars for funding abortions, moved through the state Senate on Oct. 20, reported The Ashland Current. The state of Indiana asked a federal appeals court to allow Planned Parenthood funding cuts to go forward, reported The Washington Post Oct. 20. GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum pledged to repeal all federal funding for contraception arguing that birth control devalues the act of procreation, ThinkProgress.com reported Oct. 19. Feminist author Naomi Wolf was arrested on Oct. 18 when she joined protesters at the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, The Daily Beast reported. A new law in North Carolina may require that the women who consider an abortion see the fetus prior to terminating their pregnancy, even if they do not wish to see the image, The A&T Register reported Oct. 19. An advisor to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, Robert Bork, said that women "aren't discriminated against anymore," and that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment should not apply to women, reported The Daily Beast Oct. 17. A study says that New Hampshire's treatment of female inmates raises constitutional concerns because it is so inadequate compared to that of male inmates, reported Boston.com Oct. 17. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said on Oct. 16 that he didn't agree with abortion under any circumstance during his first TV appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." He promised to work to overturn the Roe v. Wadedecision that legalized abortion since 1973. He has since backtracked and his position remains unclear. A U.S. Catholic priest who supports ordination for women has been detained by police after marching to the Vatican to press the Holy See to lift its ban on female priests, The Washington Post reported Oct. 17. In a national effort to put abortion bans into state constitutions, Mississippi voters are being asked to approve an amendment declaring that life begins when a human egg is fertilized, reported The News Tribune Oct. 17. Increasingly, states are pursuing laws that target the supply-side of abortion: the doctors. This is a shift away from more traditional attempts to limit demand (laws that target patients), reported The Washington Post Oct. 20. Noted: Operators of the B110 bus in Brooklyn, N.Y., decreed that women should sit in the back and men should sit in the front to avoid contact between members of the opposite sex, the website Jezebel reported Oct. 19. The New York City Department of Transportation says that if the bus line doesn't start complying with the city's nondiscrimination laws, its contract could be terminated, reported NBC Oct. 20. At a campaign event in Iowa on Oct. 20, GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney gave ambiguous answers to questions about his views on abortion policy and contraceptives. He said that despite his support for so-called "person" laws -- which would define life as beginning at conception, effectively outlawing common forms of birth control -- he does not oppose contraceptives, reported ThinkProgress Oct. 20. The role of Tunisian women is a key issue in the Oct. 23 elections -- the first vote of the Arab spring, reported The Guardian Oct. 20. In Memoriam: Native American activist, Elouise Cobell, died Oct. 16 at the age of 65, reported The Los Angeles Times. Cobell, a Women's eNews 21 Leader 2002, was the driving force that guided a lawsuit that accused the federal government of cheating Native Americans out of more than a century's worth of royalties, resulting in a record ${esc.dollar}3.4-billion settlement. Would you like to Comment but not sure how? Visit our help page at http://www.womensenews.org/help-making-comments-womens-enews-stories.