Catholic Churches of Sacramento, Inc. v. Super. Ct. of Sacramento County,
No.C037025 (Cal. Ct. App. July 2, 2001)

A California public benefit corporation ("corporation"), which provides social services to the poor, disabled, elderly, and otherwise vulnerable members of society without regard to their religious beliefs, sued against the Superior Court of California and the California Department of Managed Health Care seeking relief from having to include prescription contraceptives in its employees' health insurance benefits package, as well as a preliminary injunction enabling it to provide employee health insurance that did not include prescription contraceptives. The corporation specifically challenged the constitutionality of various state laws which require California employers to include coverage of prescription contraceptives when they provide their employees with insurance coverage that includes prescription drug benefits. In response to the corporation's argument that the state's statutory scheme impermissibly burdened its sincerely held religious beliefs and therefore violated its constitutionally guaranteed religious freedoms, the California Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court's denial of a preliminary injunction pending trial.

Additionally, the court concluded that "it is not reasonably probable that the [corporation's] action will prevail on the merits because the statutes at issue do not have a secular purpose, do not advance or inhibit religion, and do not foster excessive government entanglement with religion." As such, the court held that the incidental effect of the statutes on religious beliefs did not violate the religious guarantees of the United States and California Constitutions.