NewYork church groups sue over birth control law

National Catholic Reporter, Jan 17, 2003 by Gill Donovan

An assortment of New York Catholic and Baptist organizations filed suit against the state Dec. 30 seeking to stop a new law that would force religious employers to provide contraceptives for employees. The suit asks the court to overturn a law signed in September that could require church-run hospitals, schools and social service organizations to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives, even though church teachings prohibit artificial contraception. The law was due to take effect Jan. 1.

A statement from the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the state's bishops in public policy matters, noted that the church's request for an exemption for religious reasons from the contraception portion of the prescription coverage law was rejected by the state Legislature. "The law we now challenge has extraordinarily grave implications for all religious faiths," said the statement signed by the heads of eight New York dioceses.

"In effect," the statement said, "the state has deemed that the following are not allowed to be Catholic: Catholic hospitals, Catholic nursing homes, Catholic schools and universities, Catholic homes for unwed mothers, Catholic foster care programs, Catholic AIDS residences, Catholic immigration outreach centers, Catholic shelters for runaways and Catholic drug treatment programs."