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Legal Wrap: Privacy Rights and Voting Rights Under Attack In The Courts

The Supreme Court looks poised to strike at least some, if not all, of the parts of the civil rights legislation that requires jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting practices to get any changes in their elections laws pre-cleared by the federal government.

A round-up of reproductive justice news.

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Could Same-Sex Spouse Benefits Be on the Way for Missouri Citizens?

Major Alan G. Rogers holding hands with his partner on the left at a same-sex wedding ceremony on June 28, 2006.

The Missouri Supreme Court could follow Kansas’ lead in recognizing legal protections for same-sex partnerships.

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Advocates Go to Court to Protect Medicaid Funding of Abortion Care in Minnesota

Signs from the Minnesotans Unite Against the War on Women Rally in St. Paul last April.

As a judge considers whether to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Medicaid coverage of abortions, the Center for Reproductive Rights steps in to help with the fight.

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Bullies on the Bench: The Vast Difference Between Justices Scalia, Sotomayor, and Kagan

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

No, Dana Milbank, Justices Sotomayor and Kagan are not like Justice Scalia at all.

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The Simple and Insidious Way John Roberts Could Gut The Voting Rights Act

Chief Justice Roberts.

There’s a lot to be worried about when it comes to the Voting Rights Act, including the Chief Justice saving face.

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Labor Department Takes Important Step On Pay Discrimination Claims

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The Department of Labor announced it was lifting rules put in place by the Bush administration that made investigating pay discrimination claims nearly impossible.

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Legal Wrap: Kansas Courts Embrace Same-Sex Parenting, Lawmakers Punish the Poor

The criminal charge against McCormack was dismissed for lack of evidence, but the judge left open the possibility that prosecutors could re-file should they find more evidence.

In states like Kansas and Oklahoma the fight for reproductive justice is raging, and making progress.

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Virginia Fights to Keep Government Records Out of Public Eye

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Conservative anti-choice lawmakers in Virginia have a vested interest in keeping public records open only to Virginians.

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Kansas Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Same-Sex Parenting Rights

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A landmark ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court shows change is coming, even to the plains.

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Arizona Federal District Court Blocks Efforts to Defund Planned Parenthood

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A federal district court in Arizona made it official this week and entered a permanent injunction that blocks a law designed to strip Planned Parenthood clinics in the state of funds by banning Medicaid funding for non-abortion health care provided by doctors and clinics that also perform abortions.

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