Women | featured news

Tea Party politician John Koster, the Republican nominee for a hotly contested congressional seat in Washington state, says he opposes abortions, even in cases of "the rape thing," because it is tantamount to inflicting "more violence onto a woman's body."

Breast cancer screening for women over 50 saves lives, an independent panel in Britain has concluded, confirming findings in U.S. and other studies. But, the review found that for every life saved, roughly three other women were overdiagnosed.

With the presidential contest in Virginia teetering on a knife's edge, Mitt Romney is counting on the economic concerns of suburban women to lock up a state that's almost a must-carry for him. Joanie Smerdzinski, 34, is one of them. She voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and still finds him more likable than his Republican rival. "I mean, would I want to hang out with Romney? No," said the political independent, who also disagrees with Romney's opposition to same-sex marriage.

President Obama's campaign is trying to tie Republican rival Mitt Romney to embattled candidate's comments about rape. In a new video, the Obama campaign asks, "Mitt Romney's solution to extremism against women? Promote the extremists."

Expert government advisers want every pregnant woman to get a whooping cough shot.

In a boisterous speech in Fairfax, Va., today, President Obama made a renewed push for support among female voters, reiterating his commitment to women's health care and introducing a new diagnosis for what he cast as Mitt Romney's "backtracking" and "sidestepping" on issues like contraception and abortion: "Romnesia."

"There are some problems with this binder," complains Ruth from New Hampshire. "First, there are no women in it." A remark made by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during Tuesday's debate brought us a meme that just keeps on giving.

President Obama touts antidiscrimination legislation and attacks Mitt Romney for targeting Planned Parenthood, while Romney says women have suffered under Obama... Picking up where their contentious debate left off, President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney battled Wednesday for the support of female voters, underscoring their potentially decisive role in settling the fiercely competitive race.

Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is taking aim at Republican challenger Todd Akin with a new series of TV ads featuring rape survivors upset about Akin's position on emergency contraception....

Sarah Brightman, the world's biggest selling soprano, says she has booked a trip to the International Space Station... Brightman, a UNESCO ambassador, said the trip would also serve as a way to promote the U.N. agency's message, in particular by encouraging women's education in the sciences and environmental awareness. She hinted at the possibility of doing a promotional "space concert."