<span style='color:blue'>Court Asks Churches to Provide for Birth-Control Coverage </span>The Associated Press | By MICHAEL GORMLEY | October 19, 2006
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New York's highest court ruled Thursday that social service agencies run by the Roman Catholic Church and other faiths must provide birth-control coverage to their employees even if they consider contraception a sin.
The 6-0 decision by the Court of Appeals hinged on whether Catholic Charities and the nine other groups are essentially social service agencies, not churches.
At issue was a 2002 state law that requires employers to provide health insurance coverage for mammograms, bone density screening and other preventive services for women, including prescription contraceptives. The law exempts churches, seminaries and other institutions with a mainly religious mission.
Catholic Charities and the other groups sued the state for an exemption but lost in the lower courts.
The organizations 'believe contraception to be sinful,' the Court of Appeals said. 'We must weigh against (their) interests in adhering to the tenets of their faith the state's substantial interest in fostering equality between the sexes, and in providing women with better health care.'
The New York Catholic Conference said it may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
'We think this has never really been about contraception. We think it was to target the church and open the door for coverage of abortion,' said Dennis Poust, spokesman for the Catholic conference.
http://www.topix.net/content/ap/1083428808...437662372771491
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New York's highest court ruled Thursday that social service agencies run by the Roman Catholic Church and other faiths must provide birth-control coverage to their employees even if they consider contraception a sin.
The 6-0 decision by the Court of Appeals hinged on whether Catholic Charities and the nine other groups are essentially social service agencies, not churches.
At issue was a 2002 state law that requires employers to provide health insurance coverage for mammograms, bone density screening and other preventive services for women, including prescription contraceptives. The law exempts churches, seminaries and other institutions with a mainly religious mission.
Catholic Charities and the other groups sued the state for an exemption but lost in the lower courts.
The organizations 'believe contraception to be sinful,' the Court of Appeals said. 'We must weigh against (their) interests in adhering to the tenets of their faith the state's substantial interest in fostering equality between the sexes, and in providing women with better health care.'
The New York Catholic Conference said it may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
'We think this has never really been about contraception. We think it was to target the church and open the door for coverage of abortion,' said Dennis Poust, spokesman for the Catholic conference.
http://www.topix.net/content/ap/1083428808...437662372771491
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