Washington AG Ferguson Sues Trump, This Time Over Contraception

SEATTLE, WA - Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced his latest lawsuit against the Donald Trump administration Monday, this time over the president's move to make it harder for women to get insurance coverage to pay for contraception. Trump's Department of Health and Human Services on Friday said that employers can drop contraception coverage from employer-provided health plans on religious grounds.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), women were given access to contraception without a co-pay through employer-provided insurance. The mandate upset religious groups. For example, Catholic nuns the Little Sisters of the Poor pushed back against the Obama-era contraception mandate.

Ferguson said Monday Trump's rollback could affect up to 1.5 million Washington women and their dependents.

One of the key pieces of Ferguson's lawsuit hinges on how Trump's rule would unfairly affect women.

"Only women, and not men, may have their contraceptive coverage denied based on their employer’s religious or moral objection," Ferguson said in a statement. "By making a gender-based distinction without sufficient justification, the rules violate the equal protection guarantee implicit in the Fifth Amendment."

Ferguson also claims that Trump's order would violate the ACA itself because the law guarantees unrestricted access to preventive care. Ferguson also claims the rule violates the First Amendment because it forces employees to "bear the burdens" of their employer's religious views.

Photo: A one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif.

Image via Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press