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Other churches join protest against health care law

The Roman Catholic Church continues it's opposition to the Affordable Care Act clause that requires employers to pay for birth control, a practice the church opposes.  But the fight has gone beyond the confines of the Catholic Church.

The Eastern Orthodox Church has it's disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church. But when it comes to the churches' opposition to President Barack Obama's health care reform, they are on the same page.

"It is all religious people who are threatened by this intrusion of government authority into an area it has no place being."

Father Philip McCaffery, pastor of the Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church in East Syracuse says bishops in his church have issued a statement of collective support of the Catholic Church's stand on the issue.

Also entering the fray, the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Syracuse.  Pastor Juan Rivera suggests this mandate flies in the face of the U.S. Constitution.

  "The whole genius of the constitution is, that we are all created equal because we are under God.  Whether a person believes in a literal deity or not, that's not the point.  The point is the belief in a deity whether substantial or symbolic, makes us all equal," said Rivera.

His church is in the initial stages of joining the Catholic Church's fight, through a radio program it sponsors.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.