I said before, opposition to the HHS/Obama contraception mandate is not just about Catholics or contraception. It is about an unprecedented overreach of the federal government into the lives and the consciences of private American citizens and Catholics aren’t only ones fighting against it:
Seven states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration today seeking to overturn the mandate that religious employers provide contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients to their employees as part of their health care plans.
The state attorneys general of Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas filed suit today in U.S. District Court, arguing that the mandate violates both the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. All seven plaintiffs are Republicans.
That’s pretty incredible, if you ask me. The plaintiffs not only claim that the mandate is a violation of religious liberty, but also that it would put further stress on state Medicaid programs. Said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, “[t]he unfortunate reality is that many religious organizations will cease to offer health insurance and charities will stop offering services to the less fortunate because of this mandate.”
Yesterday, in a major victory for religious liberty, a federal court in Tacoma, Washington, struck down a Washington law that requires pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill even when doing so would violate their religious beliefs. Let’s hope that’s a sign of good things to come.
Others taking the administration to court: Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian College, the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN), Ave Maria University, Geneva College, Louisiana College, North Carolina Catholic college and Priests for Life.