Local Catholics join protest over mandate to cover birth control

Local Catholic leaders joined a nationwide pushback against a new federal health care mandate this weekend, claiming that forcing insurance plans to cover birth control violates their religious freedom. The requirement, part of the national health care law and issued last week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will force health care insurance, even when offered by a religious employer, to pay for contraceptive medicine for women without co-pays.

By: By Sam Benshoof, Forum Communications Co., The Jamestown Sun