Wednesday News Roundup

A woman who alleged that she was fired by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services because she is blind was ratified by a jury last week, who awarded the former state employee $3.4 million. Her attorney has asked the judge to reinstate her to her former job.
The lawyer, Kelly Ayotte, who will argue for the constitutionality of New Hampshire's parental notification law in today's Supreme Court abortion case, is the first woman to serve as attorney general in New Hampshire. More about her biography can be found here.
New Zealand has passed a new law that prevents men from sitting next to unaccompanied children on airplane flights. The policy is prompting cries of gender discrimination. Hat Tip: Talk Left.
Harvard University announced yesterday that it will use a $10 million gift to launch a program to explore legal issues in genetics and biotechnology and to examine health care policy. The new program will be called the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics, and it also will explore health care issues related to access, cost and quality of care.
Does the New York Times hate women? Columnist Susan Douglas over at In These Times asks why the newspaper is "so intent on repeatedly using sloppy journalism to suggest that the women of America want to turn back the hands of time and re-embrace the feminine mystique."
And residents along the Atlantic coast can breathe a sigh of relief: today marks the official end of the hurricane season.