May 23, 2013
MIAMI (AP) -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami has joined other Catholic institutions nationwide in challenging the Obama administration over birth control.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski said Friday that he had filed a lawsuit in Miami federal court on behalf of the archdiocese, Catholic Health Services and Catholic Hospice. They are suing U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Wenski said the birth control mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violates church teachings.
Similar lawsuits have been filed across the country, arguing that the mandate violates the constitutional freedom of religion. Wenski and other bishops say the mandate would force them to pay for sterilizations, abortion-inducing drugs and contraception, violating their religious beliefs.
