Archbishop echoes birth control complaint

Ten years ago, Cardinal Edward Egan, then New York's archbishop, fought legislation in Albany that would require health insurance to cover birth control bills.

"This is humbug," Egan said, calling the move anti-Catholic -- a complaint echoed last week by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan about an Obama administration rule requiring employers to cover contraception.

And the law Gov. George Pataki signed in 2002 reached a compromise similar to the one the White House announced Friday, putting the requirement on insurers rather than employers, letting religious groups opt out.

-- Tom Brune