US cities sued to block Trump's "conscience" rule for health care workers

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two dozen states and US municipalities on Tuesday sued the Trump administration to stop it from enforcing a rule that would allow doctors and nurses to "get away from it all. to avoid more easily performing abortions for religious or moral reasons.

Attorney General of New York State, Letitia James, said in a lawsuit that extensive protections of "conscience" could undermine the ability of states and cities to provide effective health care without compromising billions dollars per year in federal assistance.

He also stated that the rule would thwart legislative efforts to accommodate workers' beliefs while ensuring that hospitals, other businesses and staff effectively treat patients.

Sterilization and assisted suicide are other procedures that could be hindered, according to a lawsuit filed by New York and 22 other states and municipalities in a federal court in Manhattan. California has taken similar action in San Francisco.

"The federal government is giving health care providers a free license to openly discriminate and deny patient care," James said in a statement.

The rule is to come into effect on July 22. It will be applied by the US Department of Health and Social Services.

Roger Severino, director of the HHS Civil Rights Office, said in a statement: "The rule provides essential tools for implementing the laws of conscience protection that have been in place for decades. HHS has finalized the rule of consciousness after more than a year of reflection and after analyzing over 242,000 public comments. We will defend the rule with vigor.

Republican President Donald Trump has made the expansion of religious freedom a priority, and the proposed settlement has garnered support from anti-abortion activists.

Critics, including some civil rights medical groups, said the rule could deprive some patients, including homosexuals and transgender people, of the health care they may need, as they may be deemed less worthy of treatment. ;a treatment.

The Manhattan lawsuit said the rule could even prevent hospitals from asking candidates for a nursing post when they oppose the administration of the measles vaccine, even in the UK. case of epidemic.

Until 2019, the worst measles outbreak in the United States in a quarter of a century has left 880 people sick, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday.

The plaintiffs in Tuesday's lawsuits are led by Democrats or often meager Democrats.

They also include New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C .; the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, the United States. Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin; and Cook County, Illinois.

Hundreds of lawsuits by democratically-minded states and municipalities have targeted White House policies under Trump.

The cases are as follows: New York et al. US Department of Health and Human Services and Others, US District Court, South District of New York, No. 19-04676; and California c. Azar et al., US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-02769.