Posted by Curt on 16 December, 2013 at 8:39 pm. 1 comment.

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NYT’s:

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York was granted a federal injunction on Monday that blocks an Obama administration requirement to provide contraceptive care to employees at its nonprofit affiliates.

The ruling found that the regulation violated the religious freedom of the four nonprofit groups — two high schools and two health care systems — that are affiliated with the archdiocese but employ people of any faith. Under the Affordable Care Act, the nonprofit groups were required to provide the contraceptive coverage, authorize a third party to voluntarily pay for and provide the coverage, or pay steep fines.

The ruling, by Brian M. Cogan of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, found that forcing the groups to authorize a third party to provide contraceptive care still violated their religious beliefs even if they were not financially support contraception. Churches are already exempt from the mandate to provide contraceptive care.

As part of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government issued a rule that requires health plans to cover contraception without a co-pay. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, 88 cases have been filed challenging the rule as an infringement on religious liberty. Seventy-five of these cases are pending: 29 cases brought by nonprofit organizations, 43 cases brought by for-profit companies and three cases brought by both nonprofit and for-profit plaintiffs.

Judge Cogan’s decision was the first permanent injunction against the regulations. A temporary injunction was issued in favor of a nonprofit Catholic organization in Pennsylvania.

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