Diocese: 'Aggressive' Feds Push Contraceptive Coverage for Agency Employees

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | 8/11/16 | Peter Smith

[marshmallow]

The Diocese of Pittsburgh contends that the U.S. government is making an “extremely aggressive” attempt to get contraceptive coverage to female employees of Catholic Charities even as the diocese continues to battle in court over the Obamacare mandate for such coverage.

The diocese and the feds are in a long-running legal dispute over religious liberty and the Affordable Care Act, which went up to the U.S. Supreme Court before the justices kicked it back down to lower courts earlier this year in hopes of reaching a settlement.

Bishop David Zubik was the lead plaintiff in the case, in which Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh and numerous faith-based charities and schools around the country sought an exemption from having any role in employees getting contraceptives that they object to on grounds of conscience.

But even while the case is pending, “we are aware that the government has made an extremely aggressive interpretation of the court’s order in the Zubik case and is apparently trying to take over — to force our third-party administrators to include the objectionable coverage in our self-insured plans,” the diocese said in a statement. “We think that is an erroneous reading of what the Supreme Court said.”

But others are pleased the government is acting.

“Obviously we’re deeply concerned about these employees and their ability to get coverage for contraceptives,” said Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project, which filed a brief supporting government policy in the recent Supreme Court case.

The Affordable Care Act generally requires free contraceptive coverage to women as a preventive care measure. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exempts churches and other strictly religious organizations from that mandate. It also allows faith-based schools and charities to opt out — but only if those agencies.....

[victim soul]

Our government thinks it can coerce religious groups. Our Faith says: No! We will not comply.

“A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope.”
Saint John Paul II

[Alberta's Child]

Interestingly, Catholic Charities probably doesn’t qualify as a religious organization under any objective standard. The fact that it gets more than 70% of its revenues from government sources is all you need to know.

[Salvation]

This is why we have separation of church and state — so that the state cannot control religion. We don’t want to be another Church of England scenario.