Bishops Sue State Over Birth Control Mandate

NEW YORK NEWSDAY, Dec. 31—A new state law in New York forces any employer who provides prescription medical coverage to also pay for contraceptives. The bishops of New York state, in coalition with several Protestant groups, have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the law on First Amendment grounds, according to the Long Island daily.

The suit, filed Dec. 30, asks for a religious exemption to the law for institutions that do not accept the morality of contraceptive and abortifacient medication.

“In our judgment, abortion and contraception advocates have been given free reign to dictate public policy in New York state at the expense of religious freedom,” read a statement signed by Cardinal Edward Egan of New York and other local bishops. “We pray fervently for a return to religious tolerance and respect for diversity in this great state.”

Pro-Life Doctor Named to Panel on Women's Health

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 31—Dr. W. David Hager, an obstetrician/gynecologist who works at the University of Kentucky, has faced a flurry of controversy over his appointment to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel for Reproductive Health Drugs. He is one of 11 doctors appointed in late December.

Hager's appointment drew attacks from feminist and pro-abortion groups because he has publicly questioned the safety of the abortion drug RU-486, taken pro-life stands in the media and taken part in a campaign by the Christian Medical Association to reverse the 1996 federal approval of that drug, which Catholic columnist Pat Buchanan called “a human pesticide.”

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America called Hager's appointment “a frontal assault on reproductive rights.”

Canada Court Backs Gay Books for Kids

REUTERS, Dec. 20—In a ruling that has outraged pro-family groups in Canada, Canada's Supreme Court ruled that local school officials may not prevent homosexual-themed textbooks from kindergarten classrooms, according to the wire service.

One such book is called One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads. The case began when a school in British Columbia responded to parental complaints by forbidding a gay kindergarten teacher from assigning such books to his class. The court ruled that their religious objections to the material cannot be taken into account by Canadian schools.

Canada's Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing for the majority, ruled that the governing principle of secularism rules out “any attempt to use the religious views of one part of the community to exclude from consideration the values of other members of the community. … Tolerance is always age-appropriate.”

Catholic groups had joined Protestant, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh parents in demanding the removal of the books.

The Catholic Civil Rights League condemned the decision, saying it denied social conservatives any say in school policy.

Thomas Langan, president of the league, said: “The aim of the game is to shut people up.”