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Planned Parenthood is asking a federal judge to quickly rule in its favor and overturn a Mississippi law that bans Medicaid spending with any health care provider that offers abortion. The women's health group points to a recent ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld an injunction against a similar law in Louisiana. (Wagster-Pettus, 9/21)

Arkansas' solicitor general told a panel of federal judges Wednesday that Arkansas was within its rights to cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood patients a little over a year ago, while an attorney for the provider said the state's action violated the federal Medicaid Act. Lee Rudofsky for the state and attorney Jennifer Sandman each spent 20 minutes arguing before the three-judge panel in St. Louis over whether an Oct. 2 preliminary injunction requiring the state to keep paying for the services for three women who filed suit should stand or be vacated. (Satter, 9/22)