In late August, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued two new interim final rules regarding the coverage of contraception in employee health plans under the Affordable Care Act.

In comments to HHS, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) objected to a letter that could be sent to the government as a new way of expressing intent not to cover contraception because it would require disclosing the name of the insurance provider. Subsequently, the 11^th Circuit Court granted an injunction to Ave Maria University after the Catholic university refused to share its insurance provider’s name with the government.

The USCCB also asked the Obama administration “to reconsider” the new, wider, definition of “religious employer” that will allow some entities formerly not exempt from the policy to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage. The bishops objected that the interim final rules left out “conscientiously-opposed individuals, religious and non-religious for-profit employers and nonprofit employers without religious affiliation….” Instead, the USCCB advocated for refusal privileges that would apply to “individuals or entities” of any kind, which could effectively nullify the government’s commitment to universal contraception coverage as a preventive service for women.

A national survey conducted in October for Catholics for Choice, Call to Action, DignityUSA and Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) found that a majority of American Catholic voters disapprove of religious exemptions, among them, employers denying birth control coverage based on their religious beliefs.