A federal judge has granted nearly 200 Catholic employers an injunction to temporarily prevent the U.S. government from forcing them to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives, according to The Associated Press.
The Catholic Benefits Association filed a lawsuit in March alleging that a provision of the Affordable Care Act forced them to violate their religious objections to contraception and abortion-inducing drugs, the AP reported.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David Russell of Oklahoma City granted an injunction that exempts members from any fines or penalties arising from not complying with the provision while their objections are litigated, according to the AP.
The association, which includes archdioceses, an insurance company and a nursing home across almost 2,000 Catholic parishes nationwide, believes in the Catholic teaching that their ministries should include health care to their employees, but members "also believe in the Catholic teaching that any artificial interference with the creation and nurture of new life is wrong," Russell said, the AP reported.
An attorney for the government, trial attorney Bradley P. Humphreys of the U.S. Department of Justice, declined to comment Thursday on the judge's ruling, according to the AP. Catholic officials praised the decision.
"The administration has already effectively granted exemptions from the mandate to various employers whose plans cover more than 130 million employees," Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley said in a statement, the AP reported. "We're simply seeking the same exemption for Catholic employers who have religious objections to the unjust requirements of the mandate."
President of the Catholic Benefits Association Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, said the group was formed to support Catholic employers in providing quality, cost-competitive and morally compliant health care benefits for their employees, according to the AP.
"Yesterday's decision makes this a reality," Lori said, the AP reported.
