FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra says the state will file a federal lawsuit seeking to block the Health and Human Services Department’s new family planning rule.
A coalition of 20 states and California’s Attorney General are attempting to block changes to the Title X Family Planning Program.
Becerra says it would shift tens of millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood toward faith-based pregnancy clinics.
The Attorney General says the costs of the new planning rule “would be staggering for the Golden State, and he is calling it a “reckless and dangerous attack on women’s health.”
More than four million low-income women receive services including cancer screenings and pregnancy tests through the HHS program, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The new rule takes effect in 60 days.
It prohibits federally funded family planning clinics from being housed in the same locations as abortion providers.
The 21 states are just some of the parties that have vowed to sue over the rule, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
California’s lawsuit was filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
The multi-state lawsuit is expected to be filed Tuesday, March 5, 2019.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
