Two religious schools in the United States have chosen to sue the federal government as a result of the Department of Health and Human Services preventative services mandate.
The mandate requires all group health plans to provide free contraception and sterilization. This includes controversial abortifacients Plan B, the “morning-after pill” and Ella, the “week-after pill.”
Belmont Abbey College, a Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college in Belmont, N.C., took action first on Nov. 10. Colorado Christian University, an interdenominational Christian school in Lakewood, Colo., filed a suit Dec. 21.
Both filed the lawsuits under the belief that abortions, including abortifacient drugs, are against God’s law and therefore they cannot be true to their Church teachings if they follow the government regulation.
While Belmont Abbey and Benedictine are similar in dogma, a large difference, which has fallen in favor of Benedictine, is the nature of their health care providers. Benedictine is part of the Kansas City, Kan. Archdiocesan health insurance plan through Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
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