Bishop of Ogdensburg rallies opposition to contraception rule

OGDENSBURG - Bishop Terry R. LaValley is urging Catholics throughout the Diocese of Ogdensburg to voice opposition to a federal law requiring employers to provide employees health insurance coverage for birth control, sterilization procedures and abortion-causing drugs. “I urge every person to contact his/her representatives in Congress insisting on their support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision,” Bishop LaValley said in a letter issued Wednesday. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover preventive care at no extra cost to patients, which eliminates co-pays for services such as regular checkups. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services included contraception and birth control in its list of services considered preventive care. Religious institutions that primarily employ people of their own faith are exempt from the rule. But because Catholic-run institutions like nursing homes and Catholic Charities employ people of all creeds, Bishop LaValley said in his letter, they are subject to the law. He urged Catholics to contact federal representatives and call for legislation reversing the rule, calling it “an unprecedented assault on religious liberty.” “Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those ‘services’ in the health policies they write. Almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies,” Bishop LaValley said in his letter. “We cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law. This will have dire consequences for the Catholic schools, Catholic nursing home, and Catholic Charities throughout the Diocese of Ogdensburg (all of northern New York State).” On Jan. 20, the Department of Health and Human Services declined to extend its exemptions to institutions such as religious universities, hospitals and charities. “In spite of many appeals, the current Administration refused to broaden the religious exemption to these rules – an exemption limited to groups that hire and serve people primarily of their own faith,“ Bishop LaValley said in his letter. “In so ruling, the Obama Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty.” The only institution in the Diocese of Ogdensburg that does not fall under the exemption is Catholic Charities, which provides assistance through a variety of programs across the diocese. Sister Donna M. Franklin, the executive vice president of the charity, said its employees would not immediately lose health coverage. “Currently we have a waiver, so we continue to provide it under a self-insurance program,” she said. “Right now we’re looking at our options. Catholic social policies believe in a just workplace, and that involves providing our employees with health insurance.” Sister Franklin said that the mandate violates more than the U.S. Constitution — it violates American principles. “The United States has always been a pluralistic society,” she said. “This mandate basically takes away the rights of anyone who has a conscience issue with certain acts, behaviors and practices, and we have always had protection of conscience in the U.S.” Sister Franklin said that Catholic Charities will answer the Bishop’s call for Catholics to raise their voices. “Catholic Charities has two roles: direct service and advocacy,” she said. “We will be using advocacy by working with our federal elected officials Congressman (William L.) Owens and Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand and we’ll be working on a national level. We’re acting to protect our conscience.” Last month, national reproductive rights groups lobbied in favor of the Obama Administration’s decision. “It is not right to enforce a small group’s religious beliefs on all employees,” said Aram Schvey, policy counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights. “It is not a moral question, birth control and access to contraception is an important medical service.” Mr. Schvey said that the decision would not violate the church’s First Amendment rights. “It is a neutral, generally applicable law. It doesn’t go after the church; it doesn’t tell them who can become a nun,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the exercise of religion and religious practice as such. The government regardless has a compelling interest in women’s health.” Regardless, the Diocese has turned the decision into a rallying cry. “We would like to see the administrative decision made by the Department of Health and Human Services in the act eliminated,” said Diocese of Ogdensburg Chief Financial Officer Michael Tooley last month. “We would like a broader definition of what constitutes a religious employer so that Catholic Charities would be considered a religious employer.”