Neena Chaudhry, senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center, agreed. “I think it would be hard for schools to show that cheerleading should count under Title IX at this point,” she said.
A few specific women's health services, such as mammograms, are required by the new law. But many others will be determined based on guidance from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, and it could take up to a year for the agency to develop its recommendations, says Judy Waxman, vice president of health and reproductive rights for the National Women's Law Center.
Tchen briefly visited Chicago last week to speak at a fundraiser for the National Women's Law Center, hosted by attorney Laurel Bellows at her Gold Coast home.
Marcia Greenberger, of the National Women’s Law Center, says women judges bring a critical perspective to their male colleagues. She cites a 2009 Supreme Court case involving school officials strip-searching a 13-year-old girl. During oral arguments, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke of the humiliation experienced by the young girl. "What's so good about having both men and women as part of that decision is that they can bring their experience to bear to figure out what the law was really intended to mean and how it applies in practice," says Greenberger.
In 2007, the most recent year cited in the academy’s report, New York State’s rate was about 16 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. It ranks as the fourth worst rate in the country, followed by Maryland, New Mexico, Georgia and the District of Columbia, according to a multiyear analysis by the National Women’s Law Center.
For young women, plans will be required to cover maternity services, an important need during the young adult years, and are likely to cover contraceptives as well, since most employer-provided plans cover birth control, said Judy Waxman, vice president for health and reproductive rights at the National Women's Law Center.
At least nine states, including Illinois and Indiana, used increased federal aid through the stimulus package to begin offering child care support to parents looking for work. Thus they expanded the case loads of such programs or lengthened the duration of the benefits, according to data compiled by the National Women’s Law Center, an advocacy group in Washington.
Before healthcare reform was passed, the U.S. did not have national protection against sexual discrimination in healthcare or insurance. Dr. Jennifer Ashton talks with Marcia Greenberger, founder of the National Women's Law Center, about protecting women's rights.
“No one is saying flag football isn’t a great sport to play,” said Neena Chaudhry, the senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, which has brought several cases against high schools alleging violations of Title IX, the federal law mandating gender equity in education. “But I do think it’s relevant to ask questions about whether girls are getting the same kind of educational opportunities as boys.”
