Just as Catholics across the nation rally for religious liberty, another front opens on the battlefield as a lesbian couple in New York filed suit against a Catholic hospital for not providing medical benefits a same-sex spouse – a suit that specifically calls upon the insurance provider not to acquiesce to the religious beliefs of a Catholic institution.

The New York Post is reporting that a lesbian is suing St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers because of the hospital’s refusal to add her “spouse” to her medical coverage.

The suit, which was filed in a Manhattan federal court, identifies the women only as “Jane Roe” and “Jane Doe” who were legally married in the state of New York on October 15. The woman named “Roe” has worked for St. Joseph’s for five years and tried to add her “spouse” to her benefits package after their marriage.

According to the filing, both St. Joseph’s and its insurance administrator, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, denied the request because the hospital’s policy excludes same-sex spouses.

The women filed a class-action suit against the hospital and insurance provider for failing to recognize New York’s same-sex marriage law. But the suit goes much further, saying that “thousands of legally married, same-sex couples” have been, or will be, denied benefits under similar policies administered by Empire.

According to the women’s lawyer, Jeffrey Norton, they are seeking an injunction ordering Blue Cross Blue Shield not to acquiesce to a company that wants to deny same-sex benefits because of religious beliefs.

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