http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15769199/Liberals aim to ram measures past Congress
Hate-crime legislation, reproductive and gay rights top wish list
IMAGE: ABORTION PROTEST
Reproductive rights are high on the liberals' wish list now that Democrats control both houses of Congress.
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Nati Harnik / AP file
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Updated: 11:54 p.m. CT Nov 17, 2006
NEW YORK - After years of playing defense, liberal advocacy groups see the Democrats' takeover of Congress as a long-awaited chance to convert some of their goals into law. Their wish lists include workplace protections for gays, a broader hate-crimes law, and a multi-pronged push to reduce unplanned pregnancies.
A Republican president remains in the White House, armed with veto power, and Democratic control of the Senate is as slim as could be. Yet gay-rights, feminist and abortion-rights groups are nonetheless pleased by their brightest prospects for legislative victories since 1994.
"It's exciting to get off the defensive," said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She hopes the new Congress will stay away from debate on abortion restrictions and instead work on a bipartisan basis to curtail unintended pregnancies.
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"Common sense" initiatives
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said "common sense" initiatives might include requiring health insurance companies to cover birth control, requiring that emergency contraception be available at hospitals for rape victims, and ensuring that sex education for young people includes accurate information about contraceptives.