Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the Trump administration for violating the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution with new healthcare rules that block access to female contraception.
In a statement, Ferguson detailed the administration’s constitutional violations:
The Trump Administration’s contraception rules violate two constitutional provisions –– the First and Fifth Amendments.
The rules violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by requiring individuals to bear the burdens of religions to which they do not belong. For example, the rules permit a for-profit business to impose the costs of its owner’s anti-contraception beliefs on employees who do not share those beliefs.
Only women, and not men, may have their contraceptive coverage denied based on their employer’s religious or moral objection. By making a gender-based distinction without sufficient justification, the rules violate the equal protection guarantee implicit in the Fifth Amendment.
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The lawsuit also argues that the administration is violating the ACA and the Civil Rights Act.
The Trump administration is doing everything that they can think of to undermine the Affordable Care Act, but Democratic state AGs are not sitting back and allowing the President to set fire to the rights of millions. The fact that only women, not men, are losing access to contraception should be a powerful legal argument. “Religious freedom” is nothing more than a right-wing excuse for legalized discrimination.
Democratic governors and elected officials are leading the charge against Trump’s agenda at the state level.
The President is not going to get away with trying to destroy the Constitution without a fight.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
