Greensburg diocese files own Obamacare lawsuit

GREENSBURG, Pa. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg has joined dioceses based in Erie and Pittsburgh in suing over birth control mandates under the new federal health care overhaul law.

The Greensburg diocese, its Catholic Charities arm and one of its schools, St. John the Baptist Regional in Uniontown, are seeking a court order similar to that already won by the other dioceses. Those injunctions have exempted the other dioceses from requirements that contraception, including sterilization and some after-the-fact birth control drugs, be offered in employee health care plans.

The Greensburg diocese sued after the federal Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies refused to include the Greensburg plaintiffs under a voluntary extension of the injunction won by the other dioceses.

The injunction is in place until appeals courts rule on similar challenges across the country.

WPXI