Today, U.S. District Judge William Alsup declared unlawful the Trump administration’s dangerous Denial of Care Rule and followed two other federal judges in blocking it from going into effect on Friday.
“When a rule is so saturated with error, as here, there is no point in trying to sever the problematic provisions. The whole rule must go,” Alsup wrote in his order, which came in a trio of cases, including County of Santa Clara v. HHS, which was filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Lambda Legal, the County of Santa Clara and pro bono legal counsel Mayer Brown LLP.
Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement:
“Today, Judge Alsup threw out the Trump administration’s Denial of Care Rule in its entirety. One after another, three judges across the country have now made it crystal clear that it was unlawful for the Trump administration to misuse religious freedom to justify harming patients. These decisions, coupled with Congress’ introduction of the Put Patients First Act, should send an emphatic message to President Trump that no patient should ever be discriminated against or denied health care based on who they are, who they love or what they believe.”
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include the County of Santa Clara, which runs an extensive health and hospital system that serves as a safety-net provider for the county’s 1.9 million residents; the health providers Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pa., Center on Halsted in Chicago, Hartford GYN in Connecticut, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia, Trust Women Seattle and Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, D.C.; the associations AGLP, GLMA and Medical Students for Choice; and five doctors.
More information about the case is available here.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
Americans United is a religious freedom advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, AU educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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