PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal judge has denied a civil rights group's bid to join the government's defense against a western Pennsylvania Christian college's challenge to regulations requiring employers to offer birth control coverage.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/QotXWY ) says U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti said Wednesday that she is reluctant to let both sides bring in other groups this early in the process.
The mandate requires employer health insurance plans to start offering birth control coverage that includes so-called morning-after drugs that abort fertilized embryos.
Geneva College of Beaver Falls, affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and a Cranberry lumber company say the regulations will force them to violate their religious beliefs.
The American Civil Liberties Union last month asked to file a brief supporting the government's argument.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com
