Religious nonprofits challenge health law

DENVER - Faith-based nonprofit organizations that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans are in federal court Monday challenging a birth-control compromise they say still compels them to violate their religious beliefs.

The plaintiffs include a group of Colorado nuns and four Christian colleges in Oklahoma. They are already exempt from covering contraceptives under the federal health care law.

But they say the exemption doesn't go far enough because they must sign something to get the exemption, making them complicit in the contraceptives coverage.

The groups are appealing to the 10th Circuit in Denver. That's the court that ruled last year that for-profit companies can join the exempted religious organizations and not provide the contraceptives.

The U.S. Supreme Court later agreed in the case brought by the Hobby Lobby arts-and-crafts chain.