cecile richards with the latest attack on the war on women. the fight for marriage equality began in front of the supreme court today. after hearing oral arguments on proposition 8, california's ban on same-sex marriage, the nine justices were forced to confront the very meaning of marriage. the lawyer defending prop 8, charles cooper, says the ban doesn't violate the constitutional rights of same-sex couples, but cooper acknowledged that the country's understanding of marriage is changing rapidly, he says evolution should continue without the supreme court's interference. as mother jones put it, cooper was supposed to argue that california had a legitimate interest other than simple bigotry in banning same-sex couples in getting married. he difficult finding one. cooper found that marriage is about pro creation, but justice elena kagan challenged this argument. >> if you arory the age of 55, you don't help us serve the government's interest in regulating pro creation, through marriage so why is that different? >> your honor, even with respect

joining me planned parenthood president, cecille richards joining me from new york. see you. >> great to see you. >> what is the best legal strategy for you and your advocacy in terms of all of the incremental changes in abortion rights, state by state by state. are you prepared to risk a test case that would go all the way to the supreme court and especially with this court, risk overturning roev. wade. >> andrea particularly the state of north dakota they've passed a series of bills and the governor has signed bills that are absolutely unconstitutional. so i think whether it's the north dakota case or another, something will be going to the supreme court. it's so ironic that we would be in a week in which we're talking about advancing the important right to marry in this country, that the state of north dakota would now be rolling back a right that women have had for 40 years. governor dalrymple has managed to mang north dakota the most unsafe state in the country for women's health. >> there's a legislation pending in florida which would define life at fertilizati

which is fantastic. >> well, cecille richards, benjamin klein, thanks for coming on. e got to show this for viewers. i hope folks go see it. ann richards, if you haven't spent time getting to know who she is, this is a great way to do it. >> thanks, chuck. >>> coming up next, our gaggle, senator portlan reverman revers position on gay marriage. the soup of the day, it's not usually the choice of the day, black bean chorizo. can you have sausage on friday? don't forget to check out our website, rundown on msnbc.com. . at a hertz expressrent kiosk, you can rent a car without a reservation... and without a line. now that's a fast car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. to ask tough questions and get the truth. unfortunately, my hair and all i do to make it broadcast ready can't take the heat. good thing i uncovered head & shoulders damage rescue. it rescued my scalp, and saved my hair. with seven benefits, damage rescue relieves dry scalp and removes flakes, while helping to repair damaged hair. now i use it every day, because the camera neve

among her guest, cecille richards. the great tamron hall is next on "news nation."ats. i saw you this morning. you're here at 2:00 p.m. rock star tamron hall. >> apparently luke is my agent now. i'll call you later. breaking news. audio coming in at any minute from today's supreme court arguments over the defensive marriage act, doma. some say doma may be in trouble. >>> also, congressman john lewis who passionately fought against doma in 1996 -- >> i will not turn my back on another american. i will not my fellow human being. >> he will join us live for the "news nation" conversation on the supreme court. >>> plus, the fight over the reward money tied to the chris dorner case. a million dollars at stake. but mrs. now a battle over who led police to the man who killed four l.a. officers. it is all coming up next on "news nation." we've all had those moments. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. bu

cecile richards, leading the charge. thank you for your time. it turns out north dakota isn't quite as crazy as we thought. you have to wear the seat belts in the front seat, but not the back. that is it for us. thanks to you at home for staying with us this hour. first thing you need to know about arguing a case before the united states supreme court, is that the justices of the united states supreme court, really do not care about whatever it is you are planning on saying to them. >> we'll hear argument in this morning in case 12-144, hollingsworth vs. perry. mr. cooper. >> thank you, mr. chief justice and may it please the court. new york's highest court in a case similar to this one, until quite rent recently, it was accepted in any state where -- >> maybe it would best if you could begin with the standing issue. >> ah, humility. first lesson is humility. the lawyer for the anti gay rights side of the case was allowed to basically gesture at his first citation to teeter on the precipice of his first claus when, bam! this is not your house, s

. >> planned parent hood cecile richard issued this statement.deeply disappointed that the arkansas legislature voted to impose the most restrictive ban on safe and legal abortion in the country. the majority of arkansasans and the majority of americans don't want politicians involved in a woman's personal medical decisions about her pregnancy. governor beebe rightfully vetoed this legislation and the legislature would have been wise to let the veto stand. tonight the aclu tells politico it will partner for the center of reproductive rights to challenge the new law. joining me now is ian carmone, staffwriter for dot-com, and martha, a woman who works for women's rights. martha, it is in clear violation of roe versus wade, a clear constitution of the land, and here you have a legislature that is voting its state, as the governor told them, into an expensive legal process that as the law stands today is going to cost them a lot of money and they're going to lose. >> well, yes, they are going to lose. but i think what's important to note here is thi

with me to talk about it more is joen reid first off, this statement from cecile richards, the parentd parenthood saying people in arkansas and across america know that it's a deeply personal and often complex decision. it would insert politics into medical decisions. did they not learn from what we just went through in november in the lead-up to that, especially with the todd akin comments and where the country feels about roe v. wade? >> this is where you're starting to the the difficulties in terms of this rebranding, that the political people believe they need to do. you still have a large part of the party that has they deeply held religious beliefs that they want legislative action on. this has been a long-standing complaint among the religious right that they're belief is close to election time, but there's never any action. abortion is a top-line issue for a lot of evangelicals, so you're seeing at the state level a resistance to the idea that you have to change the message. they want this stuff legislated. you're seeing this in mississippi, and also seeing it in congress, wit

cecile richards a president planned parenthood and here with some of her argument to legalize abortione fall of '72. >> we are not here to advocate abortion. we do not ask this court to rule that abortion is good or dishonorable in any particular situation. we are here to advocate that the decision as to whether or not a particular woman will continue to carry or will terminate a pregnancy is a decision that should be made by that individual. that, in fact, she has a constitutional right to make that decision for herself. >> sarah, thank you for coming on so much. i have great respect for your historic role, of course. let me ask you this, what does it mean for a state to just all by itself like a cowboy go out there and say we're going to cut the term from sick months to three months in which you can have an abortion, you can make that decision. what could they possibly attempt to do knowing it will be declared unconstitutional? >> i think there are a number of things. one is sometimes you use an issue just to try to put together support for your position. it may be that they're just

this evening she'll be joined by cecile richards and david sarota, you can follow the show at "now."s" is next. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. [ man ] excuse me miss. [ gasps ] this fiber one 90 calorie brownie has all the deliciousness you desire. the brownie of your dreams is now deliciously real.

cecile richards did an interview .ith sarah cliff she says she sees a few reasons to worry.k something will go to the supreme court rate i hope the court will honor judicial resident, the right women and men have had for 40 years, and won't let it be taken away. timere groups like parenthood talking about what is happening in north dakota -- how are groups like planned parenthood talking about what is happening in north dakota? are they able to fund raise? guest: absolutely. you have the americans of both liberties union, -- american civil liberties union, groups that do pro bono work that are not affiliated with planned parenthood and do not have the lyrical muscle that planned parenthood does, and of course you have planned parenthood challenging these laws. some of them have said we are going to challenge these laws and we are ready to fight on behalf of the remaining clinic there in fargo. they call these laws blatantly unconstitutional -- for example , with the six-week and, it contravenes the legal precedent set in roe v wade. they say they are dangerous and they don't

at the table cecile richards who is president of the planned parenthood federation of america, l.joyning actress and comedian and jill philip poefic who is a includenist for "the guardian and" also with us is an actress, singer, writer and, boy, on fire about this tweet. i'm going to start with you to draw you in here with us. tell me a little bit more about what your critique was of the onion's tweet. >> you said it perfectly i think so it only remains me not to remember to curse right now. >> yes, please. >> and not to say the word, but my critique was rough because the tweet was rough, and i personally have just had enough of sitting back and taking the joke. i've been in a position to make the joke. i've been the joke, and i've made money being the joke, and i get it. i completely get it. i 1,000% get it and ha, ha, ha, ha, ha but i've had enough, and that was my critique. as you said, what we found is the jokesters and the pranksters and the defenders apparently were thoroughly unaware that black women have been denigrated very casually daily. >> yeah. >> i think judy one of the

cecile richards did an interview ith sarah cliff. she says she sees a few reasons o worry. something will go to the supreme court rate i hope the court will honor judicial resident, the right women and men have had for 40 years, and won't let it be taken away. how are groups like time parenthood talking about what is happening in north dakota -- how are groups like planned parenthood talking about what is happening in north dakota? are they able to fund raise? guest: absolutely. you have the americans of both liberties union, -- american civil liberties union, groups that do pro bono work that are not affiliated with planned parenthood and do not have the lyrical muscle that planned parenthood does, and of course you have planned parenthood challenging these laws. some of them have said we are going to challenge these laws and we are ready to fight on behalf of the remaining clinic there in fargo. they call these laws blatantly unconstitutional -- for example, with the six-week and, it contravenes the legal precedent set in roe v wade. they say they are dangerous and they d