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Arizona's Planned Parenthood affiliate and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state of Arizona Thursday over a just-signed law they say is a thinly-veiled attempt to illegally cut off Medicaid funding from abortion providers. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Phoenix on behalf of Planned Parenthood and doctors who provide abortions and deliver babies says the law is illegal because it will prevent women from choosing services from otherwise qualified providers just because they also provide abortion services. (Christie, 7/14)

Planned Parenthood of Arizona has turned to the federal courts to challenge a pending Arizona law that backers say will ensure taxpayer dollars do not flow to abortion providers but critics say will harm women's access to health care. The law requires the state's Medicaid program to kick out any health-care provider that does not show it has segregated out Medicaid dollars from abortions, including overhead costs due to abortions. (Pitzl, 7/14)