Tagged: contraception coverage

Attorney General Chris Koster wants a federal judge to clarify a recent ruling that struck down a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from mandatory birth control insurance coverage.

A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law that directly challenges the so-called contraceptive mandate under the federal health law.

A federal judge in St. Louis has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the contraception mandate of the federal health care law.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Frank O'Brien and his company, O'Brien Industrial Holdings LLC of St. Louis, was one of nearly three dozen cases nationally challenging the constitutionality of regulations in the health care law. Among other things, O'Brien, a devout Catholic, claimed the requirement to pay for birth control infringes on his religious beliefs.

The Legislature's veto override of a bill expanding religious exemptions from insurance coverage for birth control is the latest example of how Missouri has become a center point in a national debate about pregnancy.

Missouri's law is apparently the first to intentionally contradict an Obama administration policy requiring insurers to cover birth control for women at no additional cost. But the override was closer than expected in the House. One lawmaker acknowledged skipping the vote because he was disgruntled with Missouri Right to Life.