The Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming Catholic College, and other Catholic
organizations in Wyoming have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the
constitutionality of the HHS mandate.
“The mandate requires all plaintiffs except the diocese to authorize an
insurance provider or third-party administrator to provide the
objectionable coverage to their employees, and to take numerous
additional steps to ensure that their health plans serve as a conduit
for the delivery of that coverage,” said Bishop Paul Etienne.
“I as a
pastor must look to the best interests of the people and ministries of
the Church entrusted to my care. The requirements of the HHS mandate
that these religious organizations, through our group health plan, or
through a third party administrator, provide access to these morally
objectionable services is morally unacceptable.”
“In the face of an oppressive law that runs roughshod over the most
fundamental of our rights—religious liberty—we find ourselves with no
other avenue to follow in order to avoid providing contraceptives and
abortifacients—practices that are utterly antithetical to our religious
beliefs,” said Kevin Roberts, the college’s president.
“As a historian
of the Founding of the United States, I know full well the importance of
guarding these freedoms against oppression, which is why I believe that
the College has no recourse but to seek a legal injunction.”