Giving Birth in Chains, Saudi Women Barred from Using Golf Carts, France's First Madame President?

"As a Pennsylvanian, I am particularly appalled that local and national Democrats would hand our Senate nomination to someone who openly supports giving Roe an Alito-induced death. Those whose political successes have depended on the ballots and contributions of pro-choice voters but now facilitate the career of someone who would repeal those rights deserve special enmity."
-Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL, commenting on Robert Casey's support for Alito. Michelman might jump into the Pennsylvania Senate race herself.

General

*America regards itself as an eminently civilized country, but in many states female prisoners who give birth are required to be held in shackles during labor. Besides being grotesquely inhumane, this appalling practice is medically dangerous.
Source: NY Times


Politics

*After Robert Casey, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to challenge vulnerable Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, joined Santorum in backing the Supreme Court nomination of conservative judicial activist Samuel Alito, Kate Michelman was not happy. After saying she was "sorely disappointed by the lack of commitment to women and fundamental rights by the United State Senate," the former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America ripped into Casey and local and national party leaders who back the socially-conservative Pennsylvania Democrat who is an ardent critic of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed women the right to choose. How angry was Michelman? The veteran activist who has lived for almost three decades in Pennsylvania might just jump into the Senate race herself.
Source: The Nation

*The green dome over the Capitol has been one of Harrisburg's landmarks for 100 years. For many women interested in politics, it has served as a glass ceiling. Only four states have a smaller percentage of women in their legislatures. The 34 female legislators represent 13 percent of the General Assembly's membership. Pennsylvania has had one of the smallest percentages of women lawmakers for the past 30 years, even as women have become increasingly active in politics.
Source: PennLive

*A federal law that takes effect March 6 requires that mail-order brides brought to the United States be informed of their immigration rights and the criminal histories of any husbands-to-be.
Source: Women's eNews


International

*Saudi Arabia's longstanding ban on female drivers went an extra mile this week when women were barred from using golf carts to move around a cultural festival, according to Saudi newspapers. Men were permitted to use carts during the first 12 days of the Janadriya Heritage and Cultural Festival when only male visitors are allowed to attend, but the carts were withdrawn during the last three days which are reserved for women.
Source: Guardian

*Women living and working in Iran, particularly those working for the foreign media, are finding all kinds of difficulties strewn in their path, writes Frances Harrison.
Source: BBC

*In the fusty and unrelentingly chauvinistic gentlemen's club of French politics Segolene Royal is a one-woman revolution. Little more than a year from polling day in France and the phenomene Sego is gathering strength. She is up against centuries of ingrained sexism, but there is a growing sense that this elegant luminary of the Socialist party could become France's first Madame la Présidente.
Source: Guardian


Health

*Kerry Easton's blond mane held secrets. Last year, she decided to unveil them by participating in the largest-ever study of mercury contamination as measured in human hair. "I'd been eating sushi and tuna twice a week for years," says Easton, a fundraiser in San Francisco. "As a result, my hair had very high levels of mercury--more than double the level of one part per million that the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe."
Source: Women's eNews