Seven states and two abortion rights groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the U.S. government, in an attempt to invalidate a rule the Bush administration says protects health care workers who do not believe in abortions.

Attorneys general of the seven states of Connecticut, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island filed lawsuits on behalf of the states to the rule which was set by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and American Civil Liberties Union, which was acting on behalf of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, also filed separate suits Thursday. “The midnight regulation, issued by the outgoing Bush administration, poses a serious threat to women's health care by limiting the rights of patients to receive complete and accurate health information and services,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood of Connecticut said in a statement.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the federal government is interfering with constitutional rights and with state measures which protect patient and women, particularly those who were victims of a rape and who may need immediate access to emergency contraception.
Those who oppose the rule say the regulation is an attempt to deny legal abortion and contraceptive services to women. Under terms of the regulation, governments or organizations that receive federal funds are banned from discriminating against providers who invoke their moral or religious convictions in refusing to provide abortion-related medical services or information.