NATIONAL BRIEFING / WASHINGTON, D.C.

Seven states and two family planning groups asked a federal court to block a controversial federal regulation that protects health workers who refuse to provide care that they find objectionable.

In three lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, the states and groups sought a court order preventing the regulation from going into effect Tuesday and a permanent decision voiding the rule.

“The Bush administration has left a ticking political time bomb that is set to explode literally on the day of the president’s inaugural and blow apart women’s rights,� said Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal, who filed one of the suits on behalf of his state, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island.