Planned Parenthood and Attorneys General File Lawsuits against "Provider Conscience Regulation"
For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2014
Seven Attorneys General support Planned Parenthood to block a Bush administration "midnight regulation" in federal court.
Boston, MA —Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and Planned Parenthood of Connecticut filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut to block the so-called "Provider Conscience Regulation" that will severely impede access to basic health care services for women. Attorney General Martha Coakley joined six other state Attorneys General in a separate challenge to the regulation today.
The regulation goes into effect on January 20, 2009 and will allow states to retreat from hard-fought laws designed to increase access to services and provide a full spectrum of health information.
"I am proud that our Attorney General Martha Coakley has joined with six other Attorneys General to protect the rights of women in the Commonwealth," said Dianne Luby, President/CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. "This midnight regulation is an example of the Bush administration’s push to deny women information and access on private, personal health care matters."
Under the regulation, women can be denied information that allows them to make fully informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. For example, health care workers who oppose birth control could refuse to provide information to women and couples seeking family planning; employees who oppose premarital sex could refuse to provide testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections; and health care workers in emergency rooms could deny sexual assault victims information about emergency contraception.
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts applauds Attorney General Martha Coakley for working right up to the end of this administration to make sure women in Massachusetts have access to services and information they need to stay healthy.
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Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts is the largest freestanding reproductive health care provider in the state. For 80 years, PPLM has protected and promoted reproductive health and freedom of choice through clinical services, education and advocacy. For more information, visit www.pplm.org.
Source
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts
Contact
Melanie Lown
(617) 284-8023
(617) 515-0531 (cell)
Published
January 15, 2009