Last Thursday, Catholic organizations in Wyoming filed a lawsuit against the federal government in relation to the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
The Act includes a health and human services mandate relating to contraceptives, abortions and a variety of other actions deemed immoral by the Roman Catholic Church.
While houses of worship and those that work for the diocese were given an exemption, religious institutions such as Catholic schools, social services related to the catholic church as well as non-ministerial workers would not meet the government’s definition of “religious employers” and, accordingly, would have to be provided insurance coverage.
The lawsuit was filed to raise awareness to the fact that religious freedom is upheld under the First Amendment and that up until this mandate, had been honored by the federal government.
In a prepared statement released on Thursday, Bishop Paul D. Etienne said he had hoped that legislative efforts to resolve the issue would be successful.
“The requirements of the HHS mandate that these religious organizations, through our group health plan or through a third-party administrator, provide access to these morally objectionable services is morally unacceptable,” Etienne said.
Father Carl Gallinger, vicar general of the Cheyenne Diocese explained his concern.
“The unfortunate thing is this goes against the government promise of religious liberty and denies people the ability to live out their faith in all aspects of their lives,” said Fr. Gallinger. “This mandate does not allow us to do that and requires things that the Catholic faith deems immoral.”
“It is our hope that this lawsuit move forward and that we will win. And we will be able to live and practice our faith as we see God has called us to,” said Fr. Gallinger.
Faith-affiliated charities, hospitals and universities have filed dozens of similar lawsuits around the nation. Federal courts have issued differing interpretations, and the issue appears to be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court for a resolution.
The lawsuit was filed in the 10th circuit court of appeals however it is unknown at this time how long the Federal Government or Supreme Court will take to resolve the complaint.
