Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has directed the National Health Service (NHS) to provide artificial reproduction at public expense to homosexual couples and to women up to the age of 42. The change was preceded by the abolition of a legal requirement that a child’s need for a father be taken into account when assessing requests for treatment [The Telegraph].
12 lawsuits, 43 plaintiffs sue US federal government over birth control mandate
43 Catholic dioceses, organizations and and institutions have filed 12 lawsuits against the U.S. federal government to stop the federal regulation that will compel objecting employers to provide insurance for contraceptives, embryocides and sterilization. The news has been welcomed by the Catholic Medical Association, and applauded by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops as “a compelling display of the unity of the Church in defense of religious liberty.” The Conference is not a party to the suits [CMA news release; USCCB news release; Washington Examiner]. The lawsuits and plaintiffs are:
1. District of Columbia Lawsuit
- Archdiocese of Washington
- Consortium of Catholic Academies
- Archbishop Carroll High School
- Catholic Charities of D.C.
- The Catholic University of America
2. E.D.N.Y. Lawsuit
- Diocese of Rockville Centre
- Catholic Health Services of Long Island
- Catholic Charities of Rockville Centre
- Archdiocese of N.Y.
- ArchCare
3. W.D.Pa. (Erie Div.) Lawsuit
- Diocese of Erie
- St. Martin Center
- Prince of Peace Center
4. W.D.Pa. (Pitt. Div.) Lawsuit
- Diocese of Pittsburgh
- Catholic Charities of Diocese of Pittsburgh
- Catholic Cemeteries Association of Diocese of Pittsburgh
5. N.D.Tex. (Dallas Div.) Lawsuit
- Diocese of Dallas
6. N.D.Tex. (Fort Worth Div.) Lawsuit
- Diocese of Fort Worth
7. S.D. Ohio (Columbus Div.) Lawsuit
- Franciscan University of Steubenville
- Michigan Catholic Conference
8. S.D.Miss. (Gulfport Div.) Lawsuit
- Diocese of Jackson
- Catholic Charities of Jackson
- Vicksburg Catholic School
- St. Joseph’s Catholic School
- Diocese of Biloxi
- De l’Epee Deaf Center Inc.
- Catholic Social & Community Services Inc.
- Resurrection Catholic School
- Sacred Heart Catholic School
- St. Dominic Health Services
9. N.D.Ind. (South Bend Div.) Lawsuit
- The University of Notre Dame
10. N.D. Ind. (Fort Wayne Div.) Lawsuit
- Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
- Catholic Charities of Fort Wayne-South Bend
- St. Anne Home
- Franciscan Alliance
- Our Sunday Visitor
- University of St. Francis
11. N.D.Ill. Lawsuit
- Diocese of Joliet
- Catholic Charities of Joliet
- Diocese of Springfield
- Catholic Charities of Springfield
12. E.D.Mo. (St. Louis Div.)
- Archdiocese of St. Louis
- Catholic Charities of St. Louis
US Catholic Bishops call Obama administration policy unlawful
Lawyers representing the US Conference of Catholic Bishops say that a federal regulation that will force objecting employers to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives, embryocides and sterilization is “unlawful.” The submission points out that the regulation has not been changed to accommodate objecting religious believers and institutions, and warns that a lawsuit may prove to be “the only remaining recourse.” [CNA, EWTN]
Prominent Masschusetts physicians advocate civil disobedience
A former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and a professor at Harvard Medical school are urging that American physicians practice civil disobedience by refusing to obey laws that block access to abortion and contraception. “The unspoken assumption by state legislators seems to be that doctors will,” write Marcia Angell and Michael Greene,”. . . acquiesce with these new laws, that they are simply neutral agents who will comply with whatever the state orders.” They argue that physicians “have ethical commitments to patients that they cannot and should not be required by state law to set aside.” [USA Today]