Women's rights & well-being

New York sign

New York passes Equal Rights Amendent passes

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New Yorkers have passed Amendment 1, branded the Equal Rights Amendment. The New York Constitution already forbids discrimination based on race, creed, or religion. Amendment 1 adds language that would prohibit denial of civil rights based on national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes or reproductive healthcare and autonomy. The amendment effectively guarantees a right to abortion and adds protections for trans New Yorkers.

Colorado voters move to put existing abortion laws into state constitution

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The amendment is similar to a law Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed in 2022 and would codify protections for abortion including barring local governments from passing their own laws to try to restrict the procedure. It would also remove Colorado’s current constitutional ban against public funding for abortions. That would allow the state to cover the procedure under Medicaid and add it to state employee health plans.

Ovarian and Cervical Cancer Awareness. a Teal Ribbon

New cervical cancer treatment regime ‘cuts risk of dying from disease by 40%’

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Doctors are hailing a “remarkable” new treatment regime for cervical cancer developed by researchers at University College London that reduces the risk of dying by 40%, in the biggest advance against the disease in 25 years. The new treatment plan was tested in patients recruited over 10 years from the UK, Mexico, India, Italy, and Brazil. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally, with about 660,000 new cases and 350,000 deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization.

Scientists in the U.K. developing world’s first vaccine to prevent ovarian cancer

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Researchers at the University of Oxford are working on the world’s first ovarian cancer vaccine, aiming to prevent the disease that kills nearly 26,000 women in the European Union every year. The vaccine, called OvarianVax, would train the immune system to recognize and fight back against the earliest stages of ovarian cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer among women which often isn’t detected until a later stage when it’s harder to treat. Cancer Research U.K. will fund the OvarianVax research with up to £600,000 for the effort.

Good news

Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in as Mexico’s first female president

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After a smiling Sheinbaum took the oath of office on the floor of Congress, legislators shouted “Presidenta! Presidenta!” using the feminine form of president in Spanish for the first time in over 200 years of Mexico’s history as an independent country. In her inauguration speech, Sheinbaum said that she came to power accompanied by all of the women who have struggled in anonymity to make their way in Mexico, including “those who dreamed of the possibility that one day no matter if we were born as women or men we would achieve our dreams and desires without our sex determining our destiny.”

Uber driver in a car

Women and transgender people in Pakistan get a ride-sharing service for protection

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In an effort to increase protection for trans people, a Pakistani business has launched a ride-share service that will be available only to women and trans people. Called SheDrives, the service was launched last weekend and seeks to protect trans people from discrimination and harassment, says Ammaz Farooqi, the company’s chief executive. It currently operates only in the second-largest city of Lahore, but Farooqi said that expansion is possible.

Anchorage

Nurse practitioners can provide abortions in Alaska, judge rules

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A judge has struck down an Alaska law banning qualified nurse practitioners and physician assistants from performing abortions, siding with a legal challenge by a Planned Parenthood affiliate. Alaska Superior Court Judge Josie Garton in Anchorage has ruled that the law violated Alaskans’ rights to privacy and equal protection under the state constitution. The state’s top court found that those rights include a right to abortion in a 1997 ruling, and abortion is legal in the state at all stages of pregnancy.

South Korean flags

‘Major milestone’ immunization campaign begins in North Korea with support of UNICEF

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More than 800,000 children and 120,000 pregnant women will be vaccinated in a nationwide campaign launched on Monday by the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) with the support of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Over four million doses of essential vaccines — including Pentavalent, Measles-Rubella (MR), Tetanus-Diphtheria, BCG, Hepatitis B, and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) — were delivered to the DPRK in July to kickstart this comprehensive catch-up effort.

Honeycomb

Manuka honey reduces breast cancer cell growth by 84% in preliminary studies

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Manuka honey is produced from the nectar collected by honey bees when they pollinate the mānuka, a species of tea tree indigenous to New Zealand and southeast Australia. Now, preliminary studies by researchers at UCLA have found that this nutraceutical might aid in breast cancer prevention and treatment. The honey-treated mice showed significantly suppressed tumor growth compared to controls. Overall, it inhibited the growth and progression of an established human breast cancer tumor by 84% without affecting healthy cells.

Mangrove tree in water above and below sea surface

Bangladeshi women embrace mangrove restoration as an alternative livelihood

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The vast Sundarbans mangrove forests along the southern coast of Bangladesh act as a shield and protect the coastal people and their livelihoods from tropical cyclones and tidal surges. In the last couple of years, the number of mangroves in the zone has increased as the government and some NGOs have introduced programs to plant mangrove trees on the coastal embankments as protection measures. Women from coastal villages, who know the ecosystem well, have been at the forefront of these reforestation projects and have also become entrepreneurial with mangrove forest resources.

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