Link Roundup: Sexism & The Morning-After Pill
Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.
In a surprising move which left many women–and women’s reproductive rights organizations–outraged, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation to make the “morning-after pill” available to anyone, including young teens, without a prescription. Sebelius defended her decision against removing the age restriction, citing that because Teva Pharmaceuticals had not included 11-year-old girls in its study, it had failed to “conclusively establish that Plan B One-Step should be made available over the counter for all girls of reproductive age.” [NY Times]
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came under fire after criticizing Israel’s treatment of women. During a Washington, D.C. forum on Saturday, Clinton noted that Israel’s gender bus segregation and the Orthodox boycott of women’s voices were reminiscent of Rosa Parks and Iran. Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz struck back, calling Clinton’s comments “completely exaggerated.” [Ha’aretz]
On Tuesday, an FBI advisory board voted unanimously to broaden the definition of “rape.” The new definition is currently awaiting final approval from FBI Director Robert Mueller. [NY Daily News]