States sue over health rule

Seven states, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union have sued to block an impending federal rule that allows doctors, pharmacists and other health care workers to refuse to provide care they object to, the Hartford Courant reported Jan. 16. Known as the "conscience rule," the policy goes into effect Jan. 20 and was pushed through in the final months of the Bush administration. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop its implementation and the incoming Barack Obama administration has said it will work to reverse it. The conscience rule builds on prior legislation that allows doctors and health care workers to refuse to provide abortions or sterilization services or to receive training in the procedures. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, whose state initiated the suit, said the rule's implementation could endanger women's health. California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island also joined the Connecticut lawsuit. In Connecticut, the policy clashes with a 2007 state law that requires all hospitals in the state to provide emergency contraception to rape victims. Blumenthal was also concerned that the rule mandates federally funded institutions to certify that they comply with laws that protect providers' "conscience rights" or lose funding.