Dec 3, 2003 / 22:00 pm
The California Supreme Court has made no immediate decision in the appeal of the local Catholic Church to be exempted from a state law requiring employers, who offer prescription drug plans, to include coverage for contraceptives.
Arguing that contraception is against Catholic doctrine and core Catholic principles, the Church wants to be excused from having to provide contraceptives for the 50,000 people who work in Catholic charity and medical facilities in California.
"The Church teaches that the practice of artificial contraception is morally unacceptable," said James Sweeney, an attorney for Catholic Charities of Sacramento, which offers social services.
Sweeney also said that the law, passed three years ago to combat gender discrimination in the workplace, violates the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom because it forbids the Church from practicing what it preaches.