Ga. Catholic Groups Score Win in HHS Mandate Fight

In a victory for Catholic groups in Atlanta, a federal judge has ruled the government can't enforce Obamacare's contraception mandate against certain non-profit organizations in Georgia affiliated with the church.

The mandate requires them to pay for and refer women to get abortion drugs and contraception, which violates their religious beliefs.

The law exempts Catholic dioceses and archdioceses from the mandate, but not affiliated organizations such as schools, charities and hospitals.

But on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Duffey Jr. permanently barred the Obama administration from enforcing the contraceptive mandate against Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese, and Catholic Education of North Georgia Inc., which operates five Catholic schools

"The government's claim that it has a compelling interest in enforcing the accommodation against [Catholic Education of North Georgia] and Catholic Charities because it seeks to promote the uniform availability of contraceptive products and services is severely undermined by the exemptions to the contraceptive mandate that leave millions of women without coverage for contraceptive care," he wrote in his opinion Wednesday.