A federal appeals court has struck down rules strictly limiting how nonprofit groups raise and spend money for political campaigns.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed with a group that backs abortion-rights candidates that the regulations violated the group's First Amendment rights to free speech.

"The First Amendment, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, protects the right of individual citizens to spend unlimited amounts to express their views about policy issues and candidates for office," wrote Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh in the majority opinion. "Similarly, the First Amendment, as the Court has construed it, safeguards the right of citizens to band together and pool their resources as an unincorporated group or non-profit organization in order to express their views about policy issues and candidates for public office."

The court reviewed a lawsuit brought by Emily's List, which backs female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights. The group challenged four-year-old regulations enacted by the Federal Election Commission.

The regulations were a response to worries that "soft money" -- unlimited donations by individuals, corporations, political action committees and unions to nonprofit groups - were being used to attack candidates during the 2004 campaigns.

The 2005 regulations directed nonprofit groups such as Emily's List to pay for election-related activities using "hard money" accounts - money raised from individuals or political action committees that is limited. For instance, an individual can contribute no more than $5,000 a year into Emily's List's hard-money account.

Wrote Kavanaugh: "We agree with Emily's List that the new FEC regulations... violate the First Amendment."

See the court's ruling here.