Author Archives: David S. Cohen

Still No Crockus

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the mysterious crockus, the part of the brain Dan Hodgins is “educating” our educators about as being responsible for girls being more detail oriented than boys.   A few weeks and a … Continue reading

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Federal Loan Forgiveness Bill Signed Into Law

I blogged about this bill last month. President Bush signed it into law last Thursday. Equal Justice Works has a good summary of the bill here and the ABA has an editorial about the bill and the importance of public … Continue reading

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Verizon and Abortion

Looking for a reason to switch from Verizon as your cell-phone carrier? Here’s a good one: Saying it had the right to block”controversial or unsavory”text messages, Verizon Wireless has rejected a request from Naral Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights group, … Continue reading

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“Woman President” v. “Female President”

Ann’s post yesterday of the Daily Show clip “Is the U.S. Ready for a Woman President?” reminded me of a pet peeve of mine – the use of “woman” as an adjective. It always seemed to me that when people … Continue reading

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Do You Know Where Your Crockus Is?

Apparently, if you’re female, it’s 4 times bigger than if you’re male. What is it? It’s a part of the brain that Dan Hodgins, one of the slew of sex-difference proselytizers who tour the country “educating” teachers about how to … Continue reading

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No Same-Sex Marriage in Maryland

So says the state’s highest court, reversing a lower court decision from January striking down the state’s law as discriminatory. – David S. Cohen

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Federal Loan Forgiveness Bill

Great news for current or aspiring public interest lawyers. A federal loan forgiveness bill has been approved by veto-proof majorities in both houses of Congress. Here’s the notice from the ABA: The unattractive-sounding “income-contingent repayment option” is to be amended … Continue reading

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Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone

This is far afield from any area of expertise that I may have, but I was moved by this story from Women’s eNews this morning about the continuing practice of female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone.   Roughly 90 percent … Continue reading

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Depressing News to Start Your Day

From Women’s eNews’ Cheers and Jeers of the Week: – The maternal mortality rate in the United States has risen to its highest level in decades, the Associated Press reported Aug. 24, reaching 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in … Continue reading

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Congratulations Timothy and Sean!

Timothy McQuillan and Sean Fritz are the only legally married gay couple in the state of Iowa.   They managed to get a license, find someone to marry them, and have the ceremony in the short time between when an … Continue reading

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A Model for Citation

I taught Legal Methods last year, and one of the great ways I found to teach 1Ls how to cite is the Interactive Citation Workstation. Added plus is that both of the authors of the exercises are Feminist Law Profs: … Continue reading

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Rudy Giuliani and Abortion as Wedge Issue

In a political science class I attended as a guest yesterday, another guest brought up the possibility that abortion is no longer a major wedge issue in American politics. She thought that Rudy Giuliani’s ascendancy in the Republican party was … Continue reading

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Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Passes House

Yesterday, the House voted 225-199 in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.   Now onto the Senate.   Call your Senators. – David S. Cohen

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Welcome Back to Campus – Now Pay More for Contraception!

According to a Journal of Higher Education article (sorry, pay site), students returning to campus next month will have to pay a lot more for contraception from campus health centers.   The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 removed incentives for … Continue reading

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Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

It’s good to see Congress acting to reverse one of the (far too many) horrible precedents from the first full year of the Roberts Court. On June 27, the House Education and Labor Committee voted out of committee the Lilly … Continue reading

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Abortion Denied to Colorado Minor

The story’s here.   This is by no means a new thought, but if she’s not mature enough to have an abortion, as the hearing judge as well as the appeals court found, how is she mature enough to have … Continue reading

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Predicting Supreme Court Justices

I’m doing some research into the 1986 abortion case of Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and read a few comments published soon after the decision that should be a warning to those of us predicting Justices long-term. … Continue reading

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Condom advertising, pregnancy, and health

Any surprise that the Fox network doesn’t understand women’s health? Trojan, the condom company, has a new hip ad (no more”Beavis and Butthead”condom ads, more”Sex and the City”) that they’re shopping to network television. ABC, NBC, and nine cable networks … Continue reading

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The New Supreme Court – A Feminist (and Progressive) Nigthmare?

Early indications are that this Court, with Roberts and Alito replacing Rehnquist and O’Connor, is what we have feared for a long time.   It’s obviously still very early, but the first year is not encouraging at all.   Read … Continue reading

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Let’s Talk About Salaries

As previously blogged about here, the Supreme Court’s terrible decision last week in the pay discrimination case should lead to major reform regarding publicly disclosing salary information.   Susan Reed has taken up the cause in an editorial in the … Continue reading

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Supreme Court Rules Against Pay-Equity Case

Today’s 5-4 decision ruling against a woman bringing a pay equity case is available here.   The split on the Court was entirely predictable, with Alito writing for the 5 in the majority (with Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas) and Ginsburg … Continue reading

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What’s Left of Roe?

Compare Wednesday’s decision upholding the federal ban on the safest form of late-second-trimester abortion with this passage from Roe v. Wade: The statute makes no distinction between abortions performed early in pregnancy and those performed later, and it limits to … Continue reading

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Who Cares About Poor Women’s Reproductive Health Needs?

Not the Supreme Court, that’s for sure. In yesterday’s opinion, the Supreme Court continued its long-standing practice of spitting in the face of poor women who need abortions. It’s already said in Harris v. McRae in 1980 that there’s no … Continue reading

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It’s All in the Headline

Poor Behavior Is Linked to Time in Day Care – oh, scary day care! Higher Vocabulary Is Linked to High-Quality Day Care – hmmm, that sounds good. Of course, in the ever-present battle against working women, the New York Times … Continue reading

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Justice Thomas and the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003

As I’m prepping to teach the commerce clause in a couple of weeks and re-reading the cases, I’m struck by how virtually impossible it will be for Justice Thomas to remain consistent to his past opinions and uphold the Partial … Continue reading

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Arizona Feminist Law Profs Beware

Actually, all profs in Arizona should beware. An Arizona Senate committee approved a bill last week that would fine professors at public universities and colleges for, while working: Endorsing, supporting or opposing any candidate for local, state or national office. … Continue reading

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Happy NJ Civil Union Day

Today, New Jersey’s civil union law takes effect.   Yes, it’s “separate but equal,” but it’s a step in the right direction and provides concrete benefits for real people.   New Jersey could have done better, but it’s done a … Continue reading

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Reproductive Rights Laws 2006

The Guttmacher Institute, the greatest resource around for information and research about reproductive rights and health, has released its 2006 State Trend Report. It’s must-read material for those interested in the current state of reproductive rights in this country. Some … Continue reading

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Apologies for Being an Outspoken Feminist

After hiring two feminist bloggers to work on his campaign and then suffering the predictable backlash, John Edwards has extracted apologies from both of them. Apparently, women using pointed language to criticize backwards policies of the far right is not … Continue reading

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South Dakota’s New and Improved Abortion Ban

In the wake of South Dakota’s near-complete abortion ban being defeated in the polls in November, legislators are back at it with a new improved ban, this time so much more palatable, as is eminently clear from this description from … Continue reading

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Times Magazine Contributes to the Problem

Last weekend, the New York Times Magazine’s cover story asked, “Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?” In the beginning of the story, the author clearly answers the question by pointing to all of the scientific evidence indicating no such syndrome exists. … Continue reading

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More Roe Anniversary Activism

Happy Birthday Roe! Looking for another way to commemorate the day? Donate to your local abortion fund. The Hyde Amendment is 30 years old, which means for 30 years poor women seeking abortions have had to scrape together whatever funds … Continue reading

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More on Domestic Violence Lawyers and Biden’s Proposal

Yesterday, I wrote about Senator Biden’s proposed bill to have 1) a network of legal volunteers for domestic violence cases and 2) more loan forgiveness for lawyers who do that work as a regular part of their job so that … Continue reading

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Biden’s Plan to Fight Domestic Violence

Women’s eNews reports that Senator and Presidential-hopeful Joseph Biden plans to introduce bills in the spring to continue his work against domestic violence. (Biden was the author of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.) Two key parts of his … Continue reading

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Bittersweet Change of Position

Recalling Justice Powell’s famous recantation of his vote in Bowers v. Hardwick, former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs under President Clinton John M. Shalikashvili has changed his position on gays and lesbians in the military. He now says … Continue reading

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Let’s Hear It for Abstinence-Only Education!

Because it’s really such wonderful public policy in a country in which more than 90% of the people have premarital sex . . . and that number hasn’t really changed in more than five decades. – David S. Cohen

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Ever Attended a Same-Sex Commitment Ceremony? Now You Too Can Be a Federal Judge!

Before yesterday, that wasn’t the case, thanks to Senator Sam Brownback blocking the nomination of a federal court judge solely because she attended the commitment ceremony of her neighbors’ daughter. But, even after Senator Brownback removed his block, you’ll still … Continue reading

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30 Years Is Enough

Looking for worthy causes to help during this holiday season? Right up there with the best is your local abortion fund. These funds provide money for low-income women to obtain abortions. In the first few years after Roe v. Wade, … Continue reading

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Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Congratulations to Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney. She and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are expecting a child in late spring. While of course it’s wonderful that they are, presumably, happy and excited to build … Continue reading

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Abortion on Prime Time

Two young doctors not in a relationship have a one night stand, and she gets pregnant. What are the odds that, whatever they decide to do about the pregnancy, abortion wouldn’t be considered, even if just in passing, as an … Continue reading

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Supreme Court Tackles the “Last Taboo”

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on a pay equity case brought by a former Goodyear manager, Lilly Ledbetter. You can read about the case here, but the basic question was whether a woman who found out about … Continue reading

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Eric Keroack

Think the Bush Administration is going to tame its extremism in this lame duck period or over the next two years? Think again, at least with respect to its policies on women. Earlier this month, Bush appointed Eric Keroack to … Continue reading

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Motherless in Nicaragua

Today, Nicaragua’s complete abortion ban is expected to be signed into law. Already, women are dying, leaving behind kids and families because of the ban. Think that wouldn’t be the case in the United States if Roe v. Wade were … Continue reading

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The Chief and “Partial Birth Abortion”

I may be in the minority here, but I still am holding out hope that Chief Justice Roberts joins Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer (and maybe Kennedy?) in striking down the federal “partial birth abortion” statute. Ever since he … Continue reading

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Parental Notification Ballot Initiatives Defeated

Lost in this week’s excitement over all the other good news from the elections, I overlooked some ballot initiative good news as well. From Women’s eNews: “In Oregon and California, voters defeated measures that would have required doctors to notify … Continue reading

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Death of CIANA?

While the new Democratically-controlled Congress isn’t as pro-choice as we might hope, the change in the guard should spell the end for the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act. The law, which, among other things, criminalizes anyone other than a parent … Continue reading

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Abortion Supreme Court Oral Argument

Lyle Denniston has a summary of the oral argument before the Supreme Court here. It appears that Justice Kennedy, who wrote a virulently anti-abortion dissent in Stenberg v. Carhart, may be more amenable to striking down the law this time. … Continue reading

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