The legislation will not amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as some advocates have called for. Instead, it will clarify that employers cannot use any federal law, including RFRA, to deny employees federally guaranteed health-care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
The Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act, introduced by Sens. Patty Murray, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jeanne Shaheen, and Barbara Boxer, would increase the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by nearly three times the current maximum benefit, and would close a loophole that leaves many low-income families ineligible.
Among other things, the new law requires that inmates have access to mental health assessments and treatment during pregnancy and postpartum, and mandates that correctional facilities offer pregnancy and STD tests to inmates.
The contraceptive wars started with the notorious campaign in the late 19th century of the Postmaster General Anthony Comstock, who successfully banned the spread of information about contraception under an obscenity statute.
This week, new research suggests that orgasms promote positive pillow talk and improve intimacy but alcohol has the opposite effect; a study finds that the new HIV-prevention drug Truvada may also reduce the risk of genital herpes; and a vibrator company introduced a Fitbit for your vagina.
The report from the White House Counsel of Economic Advisers found that the failure of 24 states to expand Medicaid has serious consequences for their uninsured residents.
While the Hobby Lobby ruling keeps the government from guaranteeing basic reproductive health care for workers, the Harris decision effectively hobbles the ability of a group of public employees—most of whom are women—to properly bargain for affordable health care along with other vital benefits.
A new law in South Dakota bans the practice of so-called sex-selection abortion, while in Indiana two new laws went into effect, banning private insurance coverage of abortion care and mandating that abortion providers obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
The giant system backlog means that many state residents eligible for the program aren’t receiving the care they need. Multiple sources report that people hoping to be covered through the program are putting off going to a doctor until their enrollment is confirmed.
On Tuesday, the plaza in front of the Legislative Assembly in El Salvador blazed with sun and the energy of 200 women and men gathered to demand from the state an accounting of progress made on petitions to pardon 17 women unjustly imprisoned for up to 40 years for what amount to miscarriages, stillbirths, and other obstetric complications.
