Thursday, seven states sued the federal government over a rule that further expands protections of health care workers that refuse to perform or take part in abortions or other procedures by virtue of their religious or moral beliefs.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Hartford on behalf of the states by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

The seven states claim that the federal rule that was issued by the Bush administration last month, which is scheduled to come into effect Tuesday, January 20, would outrank state laws aimed at protecting women’s access to birth control, reproductive health services and emergency contraception.

Blumenthal stated that the new law rendered the term abortion to be ambiguous and also pushed doctors and other health care workers to make medical decisions based on their own definitions and thus refuse to provide patients with contraceptive methods, including emergency contraception for rape victims.

Nevertheless, if the states refuse to abide by the rule, they face being ordered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to return all HHS funds.

Director of media affairs for the department Rebecca Ayer said that the HHS had not yet reviewed the legal actions and that it would issue a response in the matter in court.

The seven states that filed the lawsuit are Connecticut, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island, while Planned Parenthood of Federation of America Incorporated,  National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association revealed their plans to take separate legal actions.