May 16, 2006                                                   Support the Center now!

CENTER WINS KANSAS "KISS AND TELL" CASE On April 18, Judge J. Thomas Marten permanently blocked enforcement of an outrageous policy adopted by Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline. This policy would have required a therapist to report a 15-year-old teen who disclosed that she was "making out" with her 15-year-old boyfriend, to the state. Judge Marten declared Kline's policy irreparably harmful, and recognized that minors have a right to privacy concerning sexual activity...

THIRD MAJOR VICTORY FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN LATIN AMERICA In a landmark decision, on May 10, Colombia's highest court liberalized one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. Until this ruling, Colombia outlawed abortion in all circumstances. The decision comes as a result of a constitutional challenge filed by Colombian lawyer Mónica Roa, who worked as a fellow at the Center from 2000 to 2002. It is part of a recent string of legal victories for reproductive rights in Latin America, where favorable outcomes in two of the Center's cases in Peru and Mexico have strengthened abortion rights...

DOCTOR, FIRED FOR DOING HIS JOB, SAYS FREEDOM OF SPEECH WAS VIOLATED In order to maintain accreditation, medical residency programs must make available abortion training for residents who seek it. Dr. J. Christopher Carey, the former director of an OB/GYN residency program at a Phoenix hospital, was fired by Maricopa County officials when he sought to ensure that training would continue to be available to residents in his program. "Every time I spoke out, they retaliated-launching bogus investigations, spreading false statements to ruin my reputation, and ultimately, firing me," he says. The Center recently joined Dr. Carey's case and filed new claims in his suit, arguing that officials violated his freedom of speech ....

CENTER SUBMITS SHADOW LETTERS ON MEXICO AND COLOMBIA In April and May, we presented shadow letters to two different United Nations treaty monitoring bodies. Our Mexico letter, submitted to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, draws the Committee's attention to issues concerning women's right to reproductive health and to violence against women. Our Colombia letter, submitted to the Children's Rights Committee, highlights issues affecting adolescents' reproductive rights, including family planning services, HIV/AIDS, and internal displacement of women and children. Click here to read the letters...

CENTER ORGANIZES GLOBAL LAW REFORM CONSULTATION IN MEXICO CITY Experts from Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia, gathered at our Global Law Reform Consultation in Mexico City, where we facilitated a cross-regional discussion on challenges and successful strategies in the area of national-level law reform.