Washington D.C., Jan 15, 2009 / 15:59 pm
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee for migrants and refugees criticized as “meritless” an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit concerning a government contract awarded to the bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services for anti-human trafficking efforts.
Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, who chairs the Committee for Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), spoke regarding the ACLU of Massachusetts’ January 12 filing of a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The lawsuit claims that the HHS anti-human trafficking contract with the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services violates the separation of church and state by not funding abortion and contraception as part of its program.
Daniel Mach, ACLU Director of Litigation, argued that the Bush Administration allowed the USCCB "to impose its religious beliefs on trafficking victims by prohibiting sub grantees from ensuring access to services like emergency contraception, condoms, and abortion care."