A federal judge in Mobile is dismissing key legal claims made by an Alabama-based Catholic broadcaster that sued to block the federal government's rules on contraception for employees.
U.S. District Judge Callie Granade issued the order Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by the Eternal Word Television Network, which is based in the Birmingham suburb of Irondale.
The broadcasting group says it will appeal. The state of Alabama is siding with the media organization.
EWTN says the government is violating its rights by requiring employers to provide health care coverage that includes contraception.
The broadcaster says the possibility of abortion-inducing medicines and sterilization violates tenets of the Roman Catholic church.
The judge sided with the government in tossing out claims that the requirement is unconstitutional and infringes on religious freedom.