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Two dozen states and municipalities sued the federal government Tuesday to stop a new rule that lets health care clinicians decline to provide abortions and other services that conflict with their moral or religious beliefs. A Manhattan federal court lawsuit asked a judge to declare the rule unconstitutional and say it was passed in an arbitrary and capricious manner. In a separate lawsuit in San Francisco federal court, California sued as well, saying there was no evidence that the impact on patients was considered. (Neumeister, 5/21)

A lawsuit by a coalition of nearly two dozen states and cities, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that the rule illegally favors the personal views of health-care workers over the needs of patients — “at a dangerous price” of hobbling the ability of state-run health-care facilities to provide effective care. A separate suit, brought by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, alleges that the rule “impedes access to basic care” and “encourages discrimination against vulnerable patients, including women and LGBTQ individuals.” (Goldstein, 5/21)

The new complaint called the final rule “an unprecedented and unlawful expansion” of nearly 30 federal statutes that will prevent the plaintiffs from administering their own health care systems. “The federal government is giving health care providers free license to openly discriminate and refuse care to patients — a gross misinterpretation of religious freedom that will have devastating consequences on communities throughout the country,” James said in a statement. (Weixel, 5/21)

“A war is being waged on access to health care across our country from Alabama to Texas to Washington D.C., where once again the president and vice president are issuing illegal rules that use health care as a political weapon while risking American lives," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, said in a statement announcing his lawsuit. (Larson, 5/21)