Retailer, family sue over contraception

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The owners of a retail chain based in Oklahoma City have filed a lawsuit alleging the Affordable Care Act requires them to violate their religious beliefs.

David Green, founder and chief executive officer of Hobby Lobby, said he and his family have sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Oklahoman reported. He said the lawsuit challenges the requirement that company insurance plans must include coverage for the so-called morning after contraceptive.

Kyle Duncan of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing Green, said the family objects to emergency contraception on the grounds that it is really a form of abortion. He said the plaintiffs have no problem with covering other types of birth control.

"Our family is now being forced to choose to between following the laws of the land that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families," Green said Wednesday. "We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate."