Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese Files Suit Against Obama Administration

The Catholic Diocese for Fort-Wayne-South Bend has filed a lawsuit in federal district court against a proposed mandate by the Obama administration's Department of Health & Human Services that would require it to provide its employees, except under narrow circumstances, access to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraceptive products and services at no cost to their employees as a violation of the church's religious freedom. A statement released by the church reads, in part:

This lawsuit is about an unprecedented attack by the federal government on one of America's most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one's religion without government interference. It is not about whether people have access to certain services; it is about whether the government may force religious institutions and individuals to provide and facilitate services which violate their religious beliefs.