Gov. McAuliffe signs Executive Order to combat discrimination in Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Gov. McAuliffe today issued Executive Order 61, which will advance the cause of equality in Virginia by requiring all future state contractors with the Executive Branch to agree to a non-discrimination policy that includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This action builds on Executive Order Number 1 by extending…

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Near-death experience researcher seeks respondents for online survey as part of new study and book

PINOLE, Calif.— Clinical psychologist and author Liz Dale is asking anyone — but especially those in the LGBT community — who has had a near-death experience (NDE) to participate in an online survey regarding the experience and its consequences. Survey results will inform a groundbreaking study and a new book to be published by Balboa…

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Judge halts enforcement of federal protections for transgender health care services

A federal judge has decided to issue an injunction blocking enforcement of federal protections that were set to go into effect Jan. 1 barring discrimination in health care services based on an individual’s gender identity, as well as reproductive health services. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by…

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Series of new studies shed light on sex determination in human development

RESTON, Va.—”‘Is it a girl or a boy?’ For parents of children with Disorders/Differences in Sex Development (DSD), the question can provoke great anxiety,” writes Michiko Watanabe, PhD, and Naveen Uli, MD, co-editors of a special issue of Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today, which examines challenges surrounding sex determination of babies born with…

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Sessions’ Senate Judiciary Questionnaire still incomplete

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Jeff Sessions has supplemented his original Dec. 9 Senate Judiciary Questionnaire (SJQ)—admitting that he had initially omitted hundreds of items—but there are still dramatic gaps in his record, according to a new report compiled by the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, People For the American Way, and Alliance for Justice. Fully…

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