California sues over US abortion rule; RI expected to follow

SAN FRANCISCO California and 0 other em ocratic led states announced they were challenging the Trump administration’s rule to limit taxpayer support for abortion providers.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday that the state filed its own federal lawsuit in San )rancisco that aims to block a new abortion rule from the 8.S. Health and Human Ser vices epartment. Opponents of the rule say it would shift millions of dollars away from abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

Twenty states and Wash ington, .C., said they would sue separately Tuesday. The states are Colorado, Con necticut, elaware, Hawaii, ,llinois, Maryland, Massa chusetts, Michigan, Minneso ta, 1evada, 1ew -ersey, 1ew Mexico, 1ew ork, 1orth Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylva nia, 5hode ,sland, 9ermont, 9irginia and Wisconsin.

Washington’s emocratic attorney general also previ ously said the state would challenge the rule.

Trump administration of ficials have told abortion op ponents that they expected a number of legal challenges to the new family planning rule, which also prohibits federally funded family planning clin ics from being housed in the same place as abortion pro viders.

Planned Parenthood and other groups representing the clinics say the physical sep aration of facilities would be costly and all but impossible to fulfill. Supporters of the rule, such as Californians for ife, expect funding for faith based family planning orga nizations to increase.

Health and Human Ser vices epartment declined to comment, citing the liti gation. The changes to the federal family planning pro gram are scheduled to go into effect in May unless blocked in court.

California’s attorney gen eral said the new rule affects 4 million mostly low income women nationwide and 1 million women in California.

“The Trump Pence admin istration has doubled down on its attacks on women’s health,” ecerra said.

The lawsuit in California is the latest of dozens of legal challenges that it and other states led by emocrats have filed in a bid to block Trump administration policies.