Washington state sues over Trump's move to roll back birth-control rules in Obamacare

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state said it is suing President Donald Trump over his decision to let more employers claiming religious or moral objections opt-out of providing no-cost birth control to women.

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who successfully sued to block Trump's initial travel ban early this year, announced his latest lawsuit on Monday, just three days after the new rules were issued.

“President Trump’s contraception rules are unfair, unlawful, and unconstitutional,”  Ferguson said. “I refuse to let President Trump disregard our laws and our constitution in an effort to deny women access to contraception.”

Trump's policy is designed to roll back parts of former President Barack Obama's health care law, which required that most companies cover birth control as preventive care for women, at no additional cost.

Ferguson says the administration's actions violate the First Amendment, because it requires individuals to bear the burden of religions to which they don't belong, and the equal protection requirements of the Fifth Amendment, because it applies to women but not men.