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New York AG Threatens Lawsuit Over GOP Health Care Bill

May 8, 2017

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D.) on Friday threatened to bring a lawsuit if the Senate passes the current House version of the American Health Care Act, calling the bill "unconstitutional."

Schneiderman claimed during a CNN interview that the bill, which House Republicans passed in a narrow vote Thursday, was not only "bad public policy" but "unconstitutional," CBS News reported.

"I hope it'll never become law. I hope we'll be able to save a lot of time and trouble and not have to bring this litigation," Schneiderman said.

The attorney general was particularly critical of the bill's provision that cuts federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

"Federal funds aren't used for abortions now," Schneiderman said. "This is an effort to cut off funding for breast cancer screenings, education on sexually transmitted disease–it imposes an undue burden on women's constitutional rights."

In his defense of Planned Parenthood, Schneiderman repeated the claim that the organization provides mammograms, which the Washington Post fact checker has called "misleading."

Schneiderman appealed directly to the Senate to block the House's version of the bill, which proposes a plan to replace Obamacare.

"We are beseeching the Senate to make sure this never becomes the law of the land," he said.

The New York attorney general has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration prior to the current clash over health care. Last month, Schneiderman began a lawsuit and other legal action against the administration, alleging that it was legally blocking "cost-saving, pollution-cutting energy efficiency standards."

"I will continue to use the full force of my office to compel the Trump administration to live up to its obligations to the law and the people of New York," Schneiderman said at the time in a statement.