Diocese sues over birth control rule

The Diocese of Rockville Centre and other Catholic institutions nationwide Monday filed suit against the Obama administration to block a controversial health care rule that could require the insurance plans of Catholic schools, hospitals and other institutions to provide birth control benefits to their employees.

The Catholic leaders said the rule, to take effect in August 2013, would violate their religious beliefs against contraception.

"We have been placed in the position of having to seek redress in the courts in our insistence that the administration respect our God-given right to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, and that no regulation, contrary to church teachings, be forced on the Catholic Church and her members and institutions," said Bishop William Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

The Archdiocese of New York joined in the suit, which was filed in federal court in Brooklyn and names as defendants the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The government has argued that its plan, part of Obama's health care overhaul, is intended to expand women's access to free preventive health services, including contraception.

"Nearly 99 percent of all women have used contraception at some point in their lives, but more than half of all women between the ages of 18-34 struggle to afford it," the White House said earlier this year.

After the Obama administration unveiled the plan in January, an uproar broke out among Catholic leaders and congressional Republicans. Strictly religious institutions such as churches and local parishes would be exempt from the measure, but Catholic hospitals, universities and charities -- some controlled by the diocese -- would not.

To try to mollify critics, Obama modified the plan Feb. 10 saying that if a hospital or charity has a "religious objection," its employees could get the contraceptive services coverage directly from the insurer.

But Catholic leaders criticized that Monday, saying in part that would involve investigating the religious affiliations of employees and clients -- something the Constitution prohibits.