Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/24680
national I SHORT TAKES NATIONAL Three anti-abortion organizations have no grounds to challenge a court order making emergency contracep- tive Plan B available to 17-year-olds without a prescrip- tion, ruled a federal judge in New York. Though it has been available to adult women over the counter since 2006, Plan B has only been offered to 17-year-olds with- out prescriptions since May, following a hard-fought struggle. A federal appeals court in San Francisco ordered an immigration board to reconsider its ruling that the threat of female genital mutilation (FGM) does not warrant protecting a woman from deportation. Immigration judges had denied asylum to a family whose oldest daughter went through FGM and who feared their youngest daughter will suffer the same treatment if they were deported. The appeals court overturned the deci- sion, however, calling it a “threat to the rights of women in a civilized society.” CALIFORNIA The state Senate has passed a resolution sponsored by Equality California calling for the U.S. Congress to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the federal policy forcing LGBTQ members of the military to stay in the closet. Since the statute’s authorization in 1994, more than 13,000 service members have been discharged under it. “To be a quality soldier you must display courage, patri- otism, commitment and ability—none of which have any- thing to do with sexual orientation,” said Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego). OHIO The state’s Supreme Court has ruled that LaNisa Allen, a former employee of Totes/Isotoner Corp., was not a victim of sex discrimination when her employer fired her for tak- ing repeated trips to the bathroom to pump breast milk. Her employer did not violate the state’s Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the court maintained, because the “unautho- rized” breaks violated company policy. Although most justices agreed, the lone dissenter, Paul Pfeifer, thought the court should have used the opportunity to secure rights for working mothers. PETA’s offensive ad www.msmagazine.com FALL 2009 | 19 OREGON In August, Portland feminists confronted the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Ingrid Newkirk, with a “flash protest” against the organi- zation’s sexist ads. The loosely knit Portland Feminist Action League gathered at Powell’s Books where Newkirk spoke to show their disapproval of PETA’s latest billboard, featuring a zaftig woman in a bikini with the text “Save the whales! Lose the blubber. Go vegetarian.” In response to the comparison of overweight women with whales, one of the signs at the demonstration read, “PETA can kiss my big fat vegetarian ass!” PENNSYLVANIA Kate Lynn Blatt, a Philadelphia transgender woman, filed suit against the staffing services agency Manpower Inc., who requested a photograph of her genitalia as a condi- tion of continued employment in 2007. Blatt told The Philadelphia Gay News that she found the request “disgust- ing” and immediately filled out a bias complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. In its defense, a spokesperson for Manpower Inc. claimed that the company was “committed to having diversity” in its workforce—though Blatt has been denied employment with them ever since she declined to provide the picture. WEST VIRGINIA A Charleston jury found Thomas H. Gravely, 31, guilty on multiple accounts of sexual assault against three sex workers, even though his defense attorney, Ed ReBrook, attempted to blame and dehumanize the victims. Insisting that “you cannot rape the willing,” ReBrook called the women Gravely assaulted “whores who have sex with many, many men for money.” Despite ReBrook’s argu- ment, Gravely’s videotaped confession to raping more than a dozen other sex workers provided jurors ample proof of his guilt. —NINA BOUTSIKARIS, KATIE FARDEN, LEANNE MIRANDILLA, FREDRIKA THELANDERSSON