The federal lawsuit, Tice-Harouff v. Johnson, was filed May 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
The plaintiff, Dr. Cami Jo Tice-Harouff, of Longview, Texas, is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, which is suing the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Julie Marie Blake, an attorney with ADF, says the lawsuit was filed because health insurance coverage included fertility awareness-based methods of family planning until HHS eliminated it in December, 2021.
"Unfortunately, the Biden administration has removed that coverage guarantee,” Blake tells AFN. “And so, as a result of it, many patients, including the patients of our client, Dr. Cami Jo Tice-Harouff, will be unable to afford the care that's best for their family."
According to ADF, before HHS took action, the Biden administration sought guidance from only one source, the Women’s Preventative Services Initiative. ADF calls that organization a liberal abortion-supporting group.
"We have asked [HHS] to restore this coverage guarantee for every woman, for every doctor, for all of their patients,” Blake says, “because women should have a choice to choose a family planning method that's best for them.”
