Blog
Catholic College’s Religious Freedom Denied
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled in a July 30, 2009 letter that a Catholic college must include coverage for artificial contraceptives in its employee health insurance plan. The EEOC declared that Belmont Abbey College discriminated against women employees by ending coverage of contraception in college-provided health insurance.
In December 2007, Belmont Abbey College removed coverage for abortion, contraception and voluntary sterilization after they were accidentally included in the college’s insurance plan. Eight faculty members filed complaints with the EEOC and the North Carolina Department of Insurance. At the time, Belmont Abbey College President William Thierfelder stated, “As a Roman Catholic institution, Belmont Abbey College is not able to and will not offer nor subsidize medical services that contradict the clear teaching of the Catholic Church. There was no other course of action possible if we were to operate in fidelity to our mission and to our identity as a Catholic college.”
Now, Belmont Abbey College has been directed by the EEOC to reach a resolution with faculty. If this does not happen, EEOC will advise the parties of available court alternatives.
This case is part of a larger trend in which state governments and agencies have passed laws forcing Catholic institutions to violate Church teaching or explicitly reject exemptions to laws based on conscientious beliefs. For example, both California and New York passed laws requiring Catholic employers, such as Catholic Charities, schools and hospitals, to provide insurance coverage for contraception to their employees. And the State of Connecticut demanded that Catholic hospitals dispense Plan B upon request, refusing any exceptions that would permit ovulation testing or other measures to ensure adequate respect for human life.
This case could be made even worse by current efforts in Washington, D.C. to change health care financing and delivery. The "Tri-Committee Bill" in the House of Representatives, HR 3200, vests tremendous powers in a government bureaucrat, the "Health Choices Commissioner" (read the House bill here. Materials regarding the Health Choices Commissioner start on page 8. Search for the term "Commissioner" to find provisions relating to that person's powers and role). That person will be able to determine everything from the meaning of insurance terminology to reporting standards to the benefits that are offered in any health insurance package. It is essential -- for the sake of freedom of religion, the freedom of citizens, and the integrity of the medical profession -- to oppose putting such power in the hands of the government. Abortion is only one of the mandatory benefits that proponents of the culture of death are determined to have financed by, and offered to, everyone.
To read the Belmont Abbey College to the EEOC decision, click this link.
People should do whatever they can to express support for Belmont Abbey College and disagreement with the EEOC.
