[JURIST] A US District Court judge has refused to block new federal campaign finance regulations that an abortion rights interest group claims will hinder its ability to participate in political campaigns, and by extension impinges upon its First Amendment rights. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly [official profile] refused a request for preliminary injunction by EMILY's List [advocacy website], which backs female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, and is suing to overturn the relevant Federal Election Commission [official website] regulations that went into effect Jan. 1. Under the new regulations, groups must use "hard money" – limited donations from individuals – to cover at least half of overhead costs, while the use of soft money – corporate, union, and unlimited donations – for specific federal political campaigns or elections is expressly prohibited. AP has more,