Judge grants preliminary injunction to Catholic Benefits Association and ND diocese that challenged abortion coverage mandate
Caroline MolloyA federal district judge has granted a preliminary injunction protecting the Catholic Diocese of Bismarck and the Catholic Benefits Association from a federal agency’s pro-abortion and pro-in vitro fertilization (IVF) accommodation mandates.
The injunction also protects the Catholic plaintiffs from the agency’s regulations that would potentially require religious employers to violate their Catholic beliefs about sexuality.
Reuters reported this week that U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor granted the injunction on September 23, while the lawsuit filed by the Catholic plaintiffs is being considered.
The Catholic Benefits Association and the Diocese filed a complaint in court against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in July, challenging the EEOC’s pro-abortion and pro-IVF accommodation mandates, which it imposes through the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).
In the complaint, the plaintiffs also challenged the EEOC’s interpretation of Title VII out of concern for protecting religious employers’ beliefs on sexuality.
