Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Judge rejects contraception suit filed by 7 states

Health-Care Law’s Birth Control Mandate Survives States’ Lawsuit A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday filed by seven states that sought to block a contraception coverage rule within the federal health care law.

U.S. District Court Judge Warren K. Urbom ruled that the states had no standing in the lawsuit because they had failed to prove they would suffer immediate harm once the rule is enacted.

The federal lawsuit challenged a rule that requires contraception coverage in health care plans — including for employees of church-affiliated hospitals, schools and outreach programs. 

The suit argues that the rule violated the rights of employers that object to the use of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.

The lawsuit was filed by Republican attorneys general from Nebraska, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Plaintiffs also include three Nebraska-based employers affiliated with the Catholic Church, a nun and a female missionary. The U.S. Justice Department had urged a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

Urbom said the argument presented by the attorneys general was "based on layers of conjecture" and fails to show that the rule would strain state budgets, as the state attorneys had alleged.

Urbom said Catholic groups that joined the lawsuit also failed to show that a religious exemption written into the rule wouldn't apply to them. 

He also noted that Obama administration officials have agreed to work with religious groups to try to address their concerns.

"In short, the individual plaintiffs have not shown that their current health plans will be required to cover contraception-related services under the Rule, and therefore their claims must be dismissed," Urbom said in the ruling.