The Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Women’s Law Center are suing the Trump administration for refusing to release records on a new HHS division that evaluates complaints from healthcare workers who say their freedom of religion or conscience has been violated.
The groups had asked the Department of Health and Human Services for details about the division, housed within its Office of Civil Rights, including how it operates and why it is needed.
The two groups are suing because they have not heard back after filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act in January.
Critics charge that the division is not necessary and will be used for healthcare providers to refuse needed care to patients. They are concerned about possible scenarios in which members of the LGBT community might be refused medication, or that a doctor may refuse to dispense birth control or emergency contraception.
“The Trump-Pence administration has repeatedly and unconstitutionally misused the concept of religious liberty to deny essential reproductive health services and embolden those who want to discriminate,” said Maya Rupert, senior director of Policy at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Given this administration’s open hostility to reproductive health and rights, LGBTQ rights, and access to healthcare for everyone in this country, the public deserves a full accounting of the new division and how it has been using its enforcement powers.”
A spokeswoman for HHS told the Washington Examiner the department “can’t comment on pending litigation.”
