Catholic employers' group wins court exemption from contraceptive mandate

June 06, 2014

A US federal court has ruled that the Catholic Benefits Association (CBA) and its members are exempt from the mandate to include contraceptive coverage in employees’ health-care plans.

The decision extends a religious exemption to the employers who belong to the CBA. The federal government had previously argued that employers should not be exempt unless their firms were engaged in explicitly religious activity.

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the vice-president of the CBA, welcomed the court ruling but expressed the hope that government officials would “recognize that Catholics, whether bishops or businessmen, cannot in good conscience provide insurance that covers drugs and procedures that undermine the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life.”

 

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Further information:

• Hundreds of Catholic employers win exemption from HHS mandate (CNA)