Many religious organizations and charities accused Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of violating their First Amendment rights when she announced final rules on women’s preventive services under the Affordable Care Act that required most health insurance plans to cover contraceptive services and drugs. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for example, claimed it would force Catholic charities and hospitals to facilitate the use of contraception by their employees in direct conflict with Catholic religious beliefs. The bishops’ conference announced that reversal of the rule was one of its top priorities.
In fact, on May 21, 43 Roman Catholic institutions filed 12 lawsuits in federal district courts around the country challenging the new HHS rules. A prime contention in these suits is that the regulations define “religious institution” far too narrowly; a religious institution is exempt from the requirements of the regulations if it has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose, primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets, primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets, and is a nonprofit organization described in certain sections of the Internal Revenue Code.
