Roman Catholic employers are pushing back against an impending federal mandate on contraceptive coverage partly because the rule would remove an escape hatch that let them opt out of similar state laws that passed in earlier years.

The Obama administration's decision requiring that employers, including large Catholic institutions, provide contraception coverage without out-of-pocket costs in their insurance plans has prompted calls by bishops to overturn the regulation. The Senate is set to vote Thursday on a proposal to effectively reverse the decision.

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