Illinois college enters lawsuit against Obama

WHEATON, Ill., July 19 (UPI) -- Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., has joined a lawsuit against the Obama administration for requiring employee insurance that covers contraception.

Wheaton, an evangelical Protestant liberal arts college, joined more than 50 institutions Wednesday in the lawsuit originally filed by Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., the Chicago Tribune reported.

In January, the administration announced religiously affiliated organizations including schools, charities and hospitals would not be exempt from providing health insurance that covers the cost of contraception, including the morning-after pill.

While evangelicals do not oppose all contraception, the morning-after pill is believed to be tantamount to an abortion.

"Wheaton is an evangelical institution with a Protestant conviction that takes a clear pro-life position as a community," said Wheaton College President Philip Ryken. "This insurance mandate is against our conscience and our Christian conviction that takes a clear pro-life position as a community."

Ryken said the board of trustees decided to enter the lawsuit after the June 28 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ultimately upheld the Affordable Care Act.