Bishop William K. Weigand of Sacramento said May 27 he will appeal a decision by the California Supreme Court that Catholic Charities of Sacramento is not a religious organization and is therefore subject to state law requiring employers who provide a prescription drug benefit cover the cost of contraceptive drugs as well.

"This lawsuit has very little to do with health insurance and everything to do with our fundamental rights as Americans," said Bishop Weigand. "It boils down to a very simple question. Under the Constitution, does the State of California have the right to tell its citizens how to practice their religion?"

The case, Catholic Charities, Inc. v. CA Department of Managed Health Care, was filed in July 2000 in response to a change in state law that required employers who provide a prescription drug benefit to also cover birth control. Religious organizations were previously exempted from providing contraception coverage for their employees, but the law as written doesn't consider Catholic hospitals, universities or charities to be religious organizations.

The legislation challenged by the lawsuit was passed in 1999 as AB 39 (Hertzberg) and SB 41 (Speier). Both bills went into effect January 1, 2000 as the "Women's Contraception Equity Act" or WECA. WECA contains a so-called "conscience clause" that exempts churches and church schools, but otherwise does not apply if the religious organization employs or serves people from other faiths.

"Healing the sick, offering charity to the poor and providing education to the young are fundamental to how Catholics practice their faith," said Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference. "We don't ask anyone if they're Catholic first."

"In other words," said Rick Mockler, executive director of Catholic Charities of California, "if we turned our back on the basic teachings of our religion and employed only Catholics, provided charity and social services only to Catholics, educated only Catholics in our universities and treated only Catholics in our hospitals, we would be in compliance with the law."

Catholic Charities is represented by Kevin Baine of Williams & Connelly in Washington, DC and James Sweeney of Sweeney, Davidian, Greene & Grant in Sacramento. Attorneys for Catholic Charities planned to file their writ with the Clerk of Court by June 1. Four justices must decide to hear the case before it can come before the U.S. Supreme Court. A decision on whether the Court will accept the case is not expected before October 2004.

Catholic Charities of California (CCC) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization committed to offering social solutions at state and local levels that reduce poverty and human suffering. It provides joint service development, marketing, public policy advocacy and mutual support for the 12 diocesan Catholic Charities in California. In 2002, its member agencies provided food, shelter and other services to nearly 800,000 people.

With over 10 million Catholics in California, the California Catholic Conference represents the Catholic community in the state's public policy arena. The Catholic Church is the largest private provider of healthcare, social services and education in California. These include 43 Catholic hospitals, which annually assist 4.6 million patients; 13 colleges and universities, which enroll more than 42,000 students; 114 Catholic high schools, which serve 73,000 students; 594 Catholic elementary schools, which enroll 170,000 children; and 12 diocesan Catholic Charities agencies.