PA Attorney General Suing President Donald Trump

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is suing President Donald Trump and the Trump Administration over birth control.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday is in response to the Trump Administration's new rules that significantly weaken the birth control mandate requiring businesses to provide health insurance for its employees that offers coverage for contraception.

Under the new rules, any employer can opt out of the mandate for religious or moral reasons. Originally, when the Obama administration implemented the rule under the Affordable Care Act, only religious institutions such as churches were exempt from the rule.

According to the lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in Philadelphia, the rules "violate federal law, which requires insurance companies to cover preventive health care services, including contraception, with no co-pay. "

According to an announcement from Shapiro, the administration’s new rules mean that 2.5 million Pennsylvania women and their families could have to pay more for contraception.

“The federal government – under the direction of the Trump Administration – broke the law and undermined the health and economic independence of American women,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said during a news conference a Planned Parenthood health center in Philadelphia.

According to information from the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the lawsuit makes the following legal claims about the Trump Administration’s new rules:

• The rules violate the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and deny women equal protection under the law.
• The rules violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Act prohibits sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and importantly, “related medical conditions.”
• The rules violate the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment, by elevating employers’ religious beliefs over the constitutional rights, and statutory guarantees, of women.
• The hasty, overnight implementation of the rules violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because the Trump Administration failed to give notice or allow public input on the rules.
• The rules also violate the APA’s requirements that federal rules may not be arbitrary or capricious

Administration officials said the new policy defends religious freedom. Officials also said the administration is tightening oversight of how plans sold under the health law cover abortion. With limited exceptions, abortions can only be paid for through a separate premium collected from enrollees. No public subsidies can be used, except in cases that involve rape, incest, or preserving the life of the mother.

With reporting by Cody Fenwick

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images