U.S. District Judge William Duffey ruled Wednesday that the federal government cannot force Catholic schools, hospitals or charities to cover sterilizations, contraceptives or abortion-causing drugs in their health plans, as Obamacare requires of all employers, because to do so would violate their religious freedoms. The Catholic Church teaches that artificial contraception of any kind is gravely sinful.

Previously, the government had offered a ‘compromise’ arrangement in which churches would be exempt from the requirement, but not religiously affiliated groups like Catholic schools and hospitals that employ and serve people outside the faith. Such groups would instead have the option of passing the costs of the offending procedures and medications on to the insurance company by signing a "self-certification form" outlining their religious objections and authorizing the insurer to pay the costs instead.

But numerous Catholic and other religious organizations have objected to the "compromise" policy, arguing that signing a paper authorizing insurance companies to provide drugs and procedures they see as immoral is just as wrong as paying for those things themselves. Among them are Wednesday's victors: Catholic Education of North Georgia, Inc., which operates five Catholic schools, and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

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