The Trump administration on Friday issued a "notice of violation" to California, threatening to cut the state's federal health care funding if it continues to require that insurance plans cover abortion.

The big picture: The Department of Health and Human Services said the requirement violates a law that bans the federal government from giving funding to states or other entities that discriminate against health care providers that object to providing abortions.

Between the lines: The announcement was timed to coincide with President Trump's speech before anti-abortion activists at the March for Life rally, per AP. Trump is the first sitting president to speak at the event.

"Religious conservatives are a core element of Trump's political coalition, and his administration has gone out of its way to deliver on their demands," AP writes.

What they're saying:

"No one in America should be forced to pay for or cover other people’s abortions [...] We are putting California on notice that it must stop forcing people of good will to subsidize the taking of human life, not only because it's the moral thing to do, but because it's the law."

— Roger Severino, director of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights, in a news release

"Women's health should never be dangled as bait for the sake of political grandstanding. Today, Donald Trump is using the official levers of government to advance his political agenda. Sound familiar? In California, we will continue to protect our families' access to healthcare, including women’s constitutional right to abortion. Nothing changes."

— California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, in a news release

Go deeper ... Where abortion restrictions stand: The states that have passed laws