Charlotte, N.C., Sep 11, 2009 / 04:03 am
Defending itself from a U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission ruling that its refusal to provide contraceptive coverage was discriminatory against women, Belmont Abbey College has retained the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty to appeal the decision.
After a faculty member discovered that contraception, abortion and voluntary sterilization were covered by the North Carolina college's health care policy, the drugs and procedures were removed from the plan in December 2007. Though the state of North Carolina requires this coverage, it offers an exemption for religious institutions.
Reuben Daniels Jr., Director of the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Charlotte District Office, issued an August 5 determination holding that that the denial of prescription contraception drugs constitutes discrimination based on gender "because only females take oral prescription contraceptives."
"By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women," he added, according to the Gaston Gazette.