Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday joined six other attorneys general in a lawsuit against the federal decision to require religious employers to offer health insurance that covers contraceptives and other services that violate the tenets of the employer’s affiliated religion.
The suit alleges the requirement violates the First Amendment.
“Government has no business forcing religious institutions and individuals to violate their sincerely held beliefs,” Bondi said in a statement. “This lawsuit is about protecting religious liberty and the rights of conscience, our most basic freedoms as Americans.”
Bondi joins attorneys general from Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas in the lawsuit. Other plaintiffs include a Catholic high school, social services agencies and a nun, among others.
The Obama administration has said it would no longer require religious employers to provide contraceptives, but would shift the requirement to health insurance providers instead. But this compromise hasn’t stopped the lawsuits.
