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Trump's birth control rollback unleashes immediate lawsuits

The lawsuits are coming fast and furious after the Trump administration’s decision Friday to allow employers to take away free birth control for employees. By the end of the day, they’ll already be facing at least five.

Just hours after the administration announced the new rule allowing employers to boot birth control from their coverage plans if they have religious or moral objections, the attorney general of Massachusetts and several legal groups announced suits.

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“The Trump administration’s actions today are a direct attack on women’s health and the right to access affordable and reliable contraception,” Massachusetts AG Maura Healey said in a statement. “By gutting this mandate, the religious belief of employers will replace the basic right of a woman to care for herself and her family. I will be suing the Trump administration today to stop this rule and defend critical protections for millions of women in Massachusetts and across the country.”

The ACLU announced its lawsuit on Friday along with National Women’s Law Center, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, BuzzFeed News reported.

“The Trump administration is forcing women to pay for their boss’s religious beliefs,” said ACLU senior staff attorney Brigitte Amiri. “We’re filing this lawsuit because the federal government cannot authorize discrimination against women in the name of religion or otherwise.”

Other attorneys general are expected to file more lawsuits. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said on Friday he was prepared to sue the administration.