Tag Archives: virginia

Virginia Advances Anti-Abortion “Fetal Personhood” And “Transvaginal Ultrasound” Bills

Jessica WakemanFebruary 15, 2012 //
Obama On Abortion
Read the president's statement about Roe Vs. Wade's 39th anniversary. Read More »
Public Hanging?
abortion photo
An NC politician called for the public hanging of abortion providers. Read More »
Today's Lady News
An abortion in the U.S. is safer than giving birth here, study finds. Read More »
abortion photo

Virginia politicians advanced two extreme and extremely disturbing anti-abortion bills yesterday — Valentine’s Day, for God’s sake! One is a so-called “fetal personhood” amendment, which would criminalize all abortions by declaring that a fertilized egg is a person. 

The state’s Republican-controlled House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed the “fetal personhood” bill, which now heads to the state Senate. If the bill passes the state Senate and is signed into law by Republican Governor Bob McDonnell, it would be the most sweeping criminalization of abortion in the United States. Keep reading »

Hero Of The Week: Virginia State Senator Janet Howell Attaches A Rectal Exam Amendment To Anti-Abortion Bill

Amelia McDonell-ParryJanuary 31, 2012 //

You guys, meet Janet Howell, a Democratic Virginia State Senator who is my new hero. Howell was disgusted by a new bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, so she decided to protest it in a decidedly unique way. She attached an amendment to that bill that would also require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication. Keep reading »

Earthquake Rocks East Coast

Jessica WakemanAugust 23, 2011 //

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Virginia, sending ripples from Washington, D.C. to New York City to Boston to Cleveland, around 1:50 p.m. this afternoon. The whole Frisky office here in NYC started shaking. We initially thought it was Amelia’s breakfast burrito getting the better of her, but now we know the truth: several of us just lived through our first earthquake! We’re hoping all Frisky readers and their loved ones are OK. Feel free to share with us any earthquake-related stories in the comments.

UPDATE: Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Virginia’s Abortion Clinics Are Totally Screwed

Jessica WakemanMarch 29, 2011 //
Ohio Passes "Heartbeat Bill"
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Ohio passes "Heartbeat Bill" to criminalize abortion at 6 or 7 weeks. Read More »
  • Virginia’s governor has signed into law a bill which requires abortion clinics meet the same regulations as hospitals — despite the fact they offer different types of services. Abortion rights supporters say the bill is an attempt to thwart women’s access to abortion. Seventeen of the state’s 21 clinics may need to shut down before they are up to par with the hospital-like regulations now required. [Ms. Magazine]
  • Journalists covering the Walmart sexual discrimination lawsuit say justices don’t seem supportive of the class-action lawsuit filed by former female employees. Oh, joy. [Wall Street Journal]
  • Mexico provided its state employees a 92-page manual on how to avoid sexist language in the workplace, such as asking women, “If you want to work, why did you have children?” or saying “You’re prettier when you keep quiet.” Um, can we get one of those over here? [Daily Mail UK]

Keep reading »

Teresa Lewis To Be The First Woman Executed In 5 Years

Jessica WakemanSeptember 22, 2010 //

Tomorrow the United States will execute Teresa Lewis, 41, the first woman to be put to death in the last five years, by lethal injection. In 2002, Lewis left the door of her Danville, Virginia, home unlocked so her lover, Matthew Shallenberger, and his companion, Rodney Fuller, could murder her husband and 25-year-old stepson with shotguns she had purchased. Her husband didn’t die immediately after being shot, but Lewis waited 45 minutes before she called the police. Lewis allegedly wanted to kill her family so she could collect life insurance and inheritance; she allegedly offered sex with her 16-year-old daughter if the murderers went through with the killings.

Lewis’ lawyers have claimed that she is borderline mentally retarded, was allegedly addicted to painkillers, and therefore was not an appropriate candidate for the death penalty. Keep reading »

Virginia Is For Frowners

Jessica WakemanMay 28, 2009 //

People with ugly driver’s license photos, the state of Virginia feels your pain. The Department of Motor Vehicles in Virginia banned smiles—yes, smiles—and ordered all new photo-takers to make a “neutral expression” in their portraits. The DMV would like to develop a facial recognition system to standardize documentation and thwart fraudsters and identity thieves. OK, Big Brother, whatever you say.

Just a cranky DMV clerk barking “No smiling!” isn’t enough, though! The DMV’s software can detect and reject “attempts at exuberance or human warmth,” meaning if you flash some dimples or let your pearly whites crack through your lips, a computer will make you take your picture again.

Even though Virginia is just one of 37 DMV agencies nationwide to use the facial recognition software, Virginian drivers aren’t pleased. Groused one driver, “It makes everyone look like criminals.” [Washington Post]
Keep reading »

Loving & Marriage

SimchaMay 6, 2008 //

Mildred Loving, the aptly named civil rights leader and last victim to be criminally tried for interracial marriage, passed away last Friday, at the age of 68. In 1958, she happily married a white man she had been in love with since grade school. Subsequently, she and her husband, Robert, were arrested and forced into exile with their children for violating Virginia’s Jim Crow laws, but she refused to undo their “I do’s.” Loving fought for love and took her trials all the way to the Supreme Court — where she and her husband got 17 states’ racist laws slashed. Although she only wanted to be a bride, Loving became an American heroine and she will live on through her heart, which was big enough to change this country. [AP] Keep reading »

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