American Life League: California bishops should cancel contraceptive benefits

Washington D.C., Oct 5, 2004 / 22:00 pm

California’s Catholic bishops should not allow any Catholic organization to pay for the cost of contraceptives in their employees’ health insurance benefits, despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that obliges them to do so, says the American Life League.

“All California bishops have a moral responsibility to protect the Church's teachings and to ensure that contraceptive coverage is not offered through Catholic institutions,” says ALL president Judie Brown.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to overturn the California Women's Contraceptive Equity Act, which requires Catholic Charities to provide access to contraception as part of its employee healthcare prescription benefits.

“This decision is truly an affront to all people of faith and a clear violation of the First Amendment right of freedom of religion,” said Brown. “By forcing Catholic Charities to include coverage for contraceptives in their prescription drug benefits plan, the court is forcing the Church to act contrary to its stated beliefs.

“Church leaders must not allow the Supreme Court to force its morality of secular humanism onto the Catholic Church,” she continued in a press release. “Unfortunately, it appears that the only option left is for the Catholic employers to drop the employee healthcare benefits altogether.”