Montgomery, AL – Alabama's attorney general has brought the state into a Catholic broadcaster's lawsuit against the Obama administration's mandate that religious organizations pay for their workers' birth control.
Attorney General Luther Strange filed a motion Thursday to make the state a party to the case. He says the mandate violates the Alabama Constitution's religious freedom amendment.
Birmingham-based EWTN Global Catholic Network filed suit in February over the rules. Network general counsel John Manos says the mandate requires religious organizations to pay for abortion drugs and sterilization in violation of their faith.
Manos says the State of Alabama's entry into the lawsuit is a major step toward victory.
Most employers and insurers have to cover birth control under the nation's new health care law. Church-related institutions must comply after a one-year grace period.
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