According to this Wall Street Journal report, seven states have decided to sue the Obama administration over its contraception mandate for private health insurance plans:
The lawsuit, led by Nebraska’s attorney general, contends that the proposed rule violates Roman Catholic institutions’ rights under the First Amendment to express their beliefs and practice their religion.
The move is the first legal action by state attorneys general in the heated debate over the requirement. It follows lawsuits brought by three religiously affiliated universities and a Catholic television network, as well as actions in some state legislatures to try to avoid the federal requirement.
I asked the Attorney General’s office is they had been invited to join this lawsuit. The AG’s spokesman, Brian Gottstein, told me:
We did receive an invitation, and we will join one of the private litigants as an amicus.
As the saying goes, this story is “developing…”
