Will Obama Sign CEDAW?
President-Elect Obama has pledged to "restore the United States' international standing," which extends, writes the San Francisco Chronicle, to passing long-neglected UN treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, one of the three UN treaties Obama says he will concentrate on ratifying. Would US ratification of CEDAW mark progress for women worldwide? Joanna Pozen offered RH Reality Check an unconventional take -- see The High Price of Compromise.
Brazilian Women Investigated for Abortion
The BBC has an examination of the investigation of 1,200 Brazilian women suspected of having abortions in a clinic in the state of Mato Grosso Do Sul. The BBC reports, "Human rights and women's organizations have complained that the process has been humiliating for those involved, and has included demands for intimate medical examinations." Abortion in Brazil is illegal except to save a woman's life or in cases of rape.
"Progressive Circle" of Advisors Surrounding Obama
Citing frustration among progressive Democrats over President-Elect Obama's "Team of Rivals" and the Clinton-era appointees he has selected, Laura McGann in the Washington Independent points to "Obama's recent White House appointments include progressive voices in key positions. Their views strongly coincide with those progressives who are expressing concern about the president-elect's Cabinet choices." McGann continues:
Consider the people Obama has selected to be his advisers on domestic policy and national politics, as well as his communications director. Other prominent progressive players, including labor and feminist activists, also will be members of his future White House staff.
In the past two weeks, Obama has tapped Melody Barnes, of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress, to serve as his domestic policy director; Patrick Gaspard, a political organizer for the Services Employees International Union, or SEIU, as his politics director; Ellen Moran, of the liberal fund-raising group EMILY's List, which backs pro-choice women candidates, to run his communications shop; and Phil Schiliro, a former aide to Sen. Tom Daschle, to serve as the White House's liaison with Congress.
Women Need an Advocate Like Clinton in the Senate
Writing of Sen. Hillary Clinton's appointment to Secretary of State, NARAL Pro-Choice New York president Kelli Conlin says in the Albany Times-Union, "But we need to make sure that our gain is not simultaneously our loss." Listing Clinton's many accomplishments for women's rights, Conlin calls for Gov. David Paterson to replace Sen. Clinton with a Senator who will prioritize women's health and rights.
