consent

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HHS to Hospitals: Stop Pelvic Exams Without Patient Consent

Agency letter warns hospitals could lose Medicare funding if they don't comply

(Newser) - The Department of Health and Human Services has come out firing against a practice it says violates the privacy and dignity of patients in health care settings across America. The New York Times reports that on Monday, the federal agency sent out a letter to the nation's med schools...

Famous WWII Pic Once More a 'Political Lightning Rod'

Memo said Eisenstaedt's V-J Day pic 'The Kiss' would be pulled from VA venues; VA chief says no

(Newser) - The Veterans Affairs secretary has reversed a department memo that aimed to ban VA displays of the iconic "V-J Day in Times Square" photograph of a Navy sailor kissing a woman he didn't know on the streets of New York at the end of World War II. Secretary...

Mad Scramble in US Museums on Native American Displays

New rules handed down by Biden administration prohibit such exhibits without consent from tribes

(Newser) - Museums across America have started closing exhibits highlighting Native American artifacts in an attempt to comply with new Biden administration rules that mandate venues get the OK from Indigenous tribes before displaying those samples. The requirements under the updated Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act , originally passed in 1990,...

Judge Rules on Soccer Honcho's 'Unconsented' Kiss

Luis Rubiales, Spain's former soccer chief, must head to trial, per Thursday ruling

(Newser) - After sullying his nation's Women's World Cup victory, former Spanish soccer chief Luis Rubiales will face trial for kissing forward Jenni Hermoso without her consent at the final. Judge Francisco de Jorge ruled on Thursday that Rubiales' kiss was "unconsented and carried out unilaterally and in a...

Years Later, Gang Rapes Lead to 'Only Yes Means Yes' Law

Public outcry in Spain had followed infamous court rulings

(Newser) - Spain's lawmakers, under pressure since an infamous gang rape in 2016, have approved a law requiring that consent to sexual activity be explicit. "It's a victorious day after many years of struggle," said Irene Montero, the nation's equality minister. "From now on, no woman...

Japan Accused of Being in 'Middle Ages' on Abortion Move

Abortion pill set to be approved soon, but a woman will reportedly need partner's consent to get it

(Newser) - Japan is said to be on the cusp of approving the abortion pill later this year, with an application from pharma firm Linepharma up for approval there. There'll be a major "but," however, tacked onto the law, one which has women's reproductive rights activists up in...

Student Performance of Disney Song Called a 'Violating Ritual'

Princeton's Tigertones regret causing offense

(Newser) - An all-male a cappella group at Princeton University has temporarily pulled The Little Mermaid's "Kiss the Girl" from its set list after its performance of the song was declared an "offensive and violating ritual." Sophomore Noa Wollstein argued in an op-ed in the Daily Princetonian that...

Does Coercion Equal 'Rape'? 2 Takes on Aziz Ansari

Bari Weiss says allegation trivializes #MeToo movement

(Newser) - When Sezin Koehler first read that Aziz Ansari made a date feel "violated," she thought, "This isn't sexual assault. This is several bad dates I have been on in the past." It was then that Koehler remembered what she calls a "scarily similar" encounter—...

College Student Expelled Over Sexual Misconduct Sues

He says University of Michigan needed to define 'intoxicated' vs. 'incapacitated'

(Newser) - An unnamed University of Michigan student expelled in June for violating the school's sexual misconduct policy is suing, Courthouse News Service reports. The student says he was only 13.5 credits shy of his degree when a University of Michigan appeals board ousted him based on an "unconstitutionally...

Forced Oral Sex Isn't Rape If Victim Is Drunk: Court

Oklahoma judges say law's language doesn't apply to the unconscious

(Newser) - Prosecutors in Tulsa say Oklahoma's Court of Criminal Appeals misfired badly by ruling that the state's forcible sodomy law isn't applicable to intoxicated or unconscious victims, reports UPI . In what Benjamin Fu, Tulsa County assistant DA, calls an "insane" and "dangerous" interpretation of the law,...

Trojan's New Campaign: More Consent
Trojan's New Campaign:
More Consent

Trojan's New Campaign: More Consent

Condom company spreading a 'culture of consent' on college campuses

(Newser) - April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, the maker of Trojan condoms wants to help spread the word around college campuses through its "Consent: Ask for It" campaign with the Advocates for Youth nonprofit, per a press release . The goal: for college...

78-Year-Old on Trial for Having Sex With His Wife

Some say Henry Rayhons' wife, Donna, who had dementia, wasn't able to give consent

(Newser) - An elderly man having sexual relations with his wife wouldn't normally be front-page news. But for Henry Rayhons, a former Republican legislator in Iowa, it's a trickier case. The 78-year-old is currently on trial, charged with felony sex abuse for allegedly having sex last May with his wife,...

Utah Lawmakers Debate Sex With Unconscious People

Law also applies to spouses, committee member told

(Newser) - A Utah bill stating that unconscious people cannot consent to sex proved to be more controversial than expected when it came before a legislative committee earlier this week. Rep. Brian Greene wondered if it meant that somebody who had sex with an unconscious spouse could be charged with rape, saying...

Girl Fights Connecticut Over Right to Refuse Chemo

Cassandra's chance of survival put at 80%-85% with treatment

(Newser) - After 17-year-old Cassandra was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in September, she underwent two chemotherapy treatments in November at Connecticut Children's Medical Center before running away from home because she didn't want to complete the prescribed chemo. Now Cassandra is in the middle of a legal battle headed...

Lawmaker Accused of 'Raping' Wife With Dementia

Henry Rayhons, 78, says he and wife Donna were inseparable

(Newser) - An Iowa state lawmaker says he loved visiting his wife at a nursing home before her death at age 79. But prosecutors have filed felony charges against him, saying that her Alzheimer's made her unable to consent to his sexual desires, Bloomberg reports via the Washington Post . Henry Rayhons,...

California Spells Out When 'Yes Means Yes'

Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill about sexual consent

(Newser) - A busy weekend for California Gov. Jerry Brown culminated in several signed bills designed to assist students across his state. Chief among the legislation is SB-967 , which seeks to combat sexual assault on campus by flipping the traditional "no means no" mantra on its head: Colleges and universities will...

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