The American Civil Liberties Union is unhappy that Catholic charities that care for illegal immigrants aren't giving out contraceptives or aborting their babies, so they're suing the US Conference of Bishops to force them to violate their religious beliefs and provide "reproductive care."

Washington Times:

The ACLU is demanding government records detailing reproductive healthcare policies for immigrant children and teens in shelters operated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The USCCB has been contracted by the federal government to care for the surge of unaccompanied minors crossing into the U.S.

The group claims that the USCCB has been denying reproductive care for immigrants based on its religious doctrines and that by doing so the organization is breaking the rules of its contract with the federal government to provide necessary healthcare for immigrants.

The suit has sparked outrage among religious, anti-abortion, and civil rights groups who argue the ACLU is more concerned with bullying the Catholic church than helping vulnerable immigrants.

“Lawsuits like the one the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) just filed demanding all of the records on a faith-based provider of care and services to vulnerable children are destructive and divisive,” said Brian Walsh, president of the Civil Rights Research Center in a statement. “When it comes to religious freedom, some organizations that have had a laudable history of defending Americans’ religious civil rights and liberties are looking less and less like their former selves.”

Legal experts say that despite the contract agreement, federal law protects USCCB’s religious rights and say ACLU’s case aims to strip religion from the public sphere.

“The larger issue — religious liberty — is the constitutional issue of our time,” said Jerad Najvar, founder of Najvar law firm in Houston, Texas. “We are coming to a tipping point in this country. Right now it’s an attempt to sanitize religious principles from religious charities and schools that receive government assistance. Next it will be denying religious freedom to even privately-funded charities that are open to the public. It’s time for Catholics to recognize the trajectory here, and stand up before it’s too late.”

Is this the most outrageous thing that the ACLU has ever done? Discuss.

The Catholic Church is one of the biggest boosters of amnesty, but the immigration status of the illegals is irrelevant to the larger issue of religious freedom. The ACLU may be hoping to get a pro-choice federal judge to see the issue their way, but otherwise, they don't have much of a case. 

The bishops released a statement defending their care of the illegal minor children:

“We ensure children and youth have access to ongoing medical and social services. This extensive health care would include, in the case of pregnancy, prenatal, labor/delivery and well-baby care. For decades, we have provided exemplary services to this vulnerable population without facilitating abortions, and despite ACLU’s extreme assertions to the contrary, the law not only permits our doing so, but protects it,” the statement reads.

The charities don't provide plastic surgery or other elective procedures so why is abortion different? Unless the ACLU can cite a specific case where a woman's life or health was in danger because she couldn't get an abortion, it's hard to see where they think they have a case.