Another promising development in the battle against HHS and religious intolerance

Catholic Groups Exempted from Contraceptive Mandate

Federal judge says religious groups don't have to trigger third-party coverage

R. Robin McDonald, Daily Report March 27, 2014                                            

Judge William Duffey ruled in favor of the Atlanta Catholic archdiocese and Savannah diocese.

File photo

A federal judge in Atlanta ruled Wednesday that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah are "entirely exempt" from the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act, including a provision that would let their female employees or female family members secure contraceptive coverage from their third-party insurers.
U.S. District Judge William Duffey Jr. also permanently enjoined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from enforcing the contraceptive mandate against Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese, a nonprofit organization that provides social services; and Catholic Education of North Georgia Inc., which operates five Catholic schools that educate nearly 12,000 students and employ more than 4,800 teachers and administrators.
The judge also permanently barred HHS, the U.S. Labor Department and the U.S. Treasury from enforcing federal regulations associated with the mandate that would require Catholic Charities and Catholic Education of North Georgia to notify their third-party insurers that they did not intend to offer contraceptive coverage. That notification—called a self-certification form—would trigger a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires third-party insurers to make contraceptive coverage available to employees whose employers won't cover contraception for religious reasons.

Read more: http://www.dailyreportonline.com/id=1202648552543/Catholic-Groups-Exempted-from-Contraceptive-Mandate-#ixzz2xG8XTlGm