Washington, DC – Today, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it is launching an investigation into 13 states that require health insurance plans to cover abortion care.

The investigation relies on the anti-abortion federal law, the Weldon Amendment, which allows health care providers to deny abortion care based on their personal beliefs.

Katie O’Connor, senior director of federal abortion policy at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), released the following statement in response.

“President Trump’s claim that he wants to ‘leave abortion to the states’ is an absolute lie, and this latest attack on abortion access is further proof. The administration is weaponizing the anti-abortion Weldon Amendment to rip away affordable abortion care from people and to punish states where this care remains protected.

“At a time when abortion care is getting harder and harder to access, we are deeply concerned that the few states that have taken steps to protect access are now under attack. These investigations also follow a familiar pattern from the administration: attacking states that the president views as political threats.”

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