Catholic bishops coordinate lawsuits against Obama administration over birth control mandate

When prayer fails, sue! We knew this was coming. After all, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been threatening that if the bishops don't get their way'and prayer, "the ultimate source of our strength," fails them'they'll take their whining to court. And that's exactly what they've done. Via Politico:

More than 40 Catholic institutions on Monday filed lawsuits challenging the Obama administration's policy that requires employers to provide insurance coverage of contraceptives, a coordinated strategy backed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The groups, including the Archdiocese of Washington, the University of Notre Dame and other Catholic schools and charities, filed 12 lawsuits in courts throughout the country. They join about 12 lawsuits already filed against the policy. [...]

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has been a vocal opponent of the Obama administration's policy, is not a party to the suits but said it is backing them.

The lawsuit, filed Monday by the University of Notre Dame, repeats several of the false allegations made repeatedly by the bishops and Republicans, such as:

Under current federal law described below (the "U.S. Government Mandate"), Notre Dame must provide, or facilitate the provision of, abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraceptive services to its employees in violation of the centuries' old teachings of the Catholic Church.

That's something the Church and its various affiliated organizations have continued to claim, even though it's blatantly false. The new mandate does not require the Church, Notre Dame, or any of the other Catholic hospitals or universities to do ... well, anything. It requires the insurance companies who provide insurance to the employees and students of those institutions to "provide, or facilitate the provision of" such basic preventive health care as contraception.

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