SYRACUSE -- Dozens of Roman Catholic groups are filing lawsuits challenging the government mandate requiring most employers to provide birth control as a part of employee heath plans.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse is not on the list, but Bishop Robert Cunningham says he supports the lawsuit.
The New York Archdiocese and other Catholic organizations filed suit Monday in an attempt to block a mandate in the Obama administration's health care law that would require most employers to provide birth control coverage as part of their health plan. Bishop Robert Cunningham from the Syracuse Diocese says forcing companies to provide coverage is a violation of basic religious freedoms.
"We want to just preserve the first freedom of the American republic which was the freedom of religion. So that's really the focus of our efforts, the focus of our attention," said Bishop Cunningham.
The director of Syracuse's Planned Parenthood office supports the mandate and says "Access to birth control is a basic economic and health imperative." In a statement, Betty DeFazio added that "Access to birth control prevents unintended pregnancies, improves health outcomes for women and families and enables women to better participate in the workplace and provide for their families."
The issue has sharply divided many people. Even some who support birth control say the government's mandate goes too far, while others say all women should have access to birth control and make their own choice.
19 year-old Lillian Smith said she understood the Catholic Church's argument but she said still believed women should be able to make their own choice. "It's for teenage women and also adult women. if you don't want to have a kid, you obviously don't want to have a kid for a purpose and you should be taking birth control," said Smith.
"The lawsuit comes after religious leaders say months of negotiations with the Obama administration failed to resolve their issues with the mandate.
