Supreme Court birth control ruling: The Minnesota plaintiffs

Eight Minnesota companies were among plaintiffs affected by Monday's Supreme Court ruling that some companies with religious objections can avoid the contraceptives requirement in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Here are the companies.

• More: High court ruling on employers and contraception to be felt in Minnesota

Plaintiffs: Feltl and Company, Inc., John C. Feltl and Mary Jo Feltl
Location: Minneapolis
Industry: Securities brokerage and investment banking
Excerpt from the complaint: The Feltls hold sincere religious beliefs based on the Roman Catholic Catechism which states "abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a 'criminal' practice" and which states "direct sterilization" and "contraception" are morally unacceptable.

Plaintiffs: Annex Medical, Inc., Stuart Lind, and Tom Janas
Location: Minnetonka
Industry: Medical device manufacturing
Excerpt from the complaint: Lind and Janas therefore believe that any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation is an evil forbidden by God.

Plaintiffs: SMA, LLC, Michael Brey and Stanley Brey
Location: Monticello
Industry: Agricultural/industrial construction
Excerpt from the complaint: The Breys are brothers who each own 50% of the Company. They are both Roman Catholic. They both hold sincere religious beliefs based on the Roman Catholic Catechism which states "abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a 'criminal' practice" and which states "direct sterilization" and "contraception" are morally unacceptable...The HHS Mandate to the Breys is sinful and immoral.

Plaintiffs: The QC Group, Inc., Daniel Medford, and David Devowe
Location: Minnetonka
Industry: Quality control services
Excerpt from the complaint: Both Medford and DeVowe are Christians. They both hold sincere religious beliefs based on the Bible, which they believe is the inerrant Word of God. They believe that God, as the Author of Life, has created man in His own image and forms him in his mother's womb — i.e., a person is created at conception. They therefore believe, as they believe the Bible teaches, that abortion is murder because it is the killing of an innocent person, which is a violation of God's moral law — a sin. They also believe that God, the Creator of human life, does not condone the use of birth control (which includes ella, Plan B, the Pill, and other forms of contraceptive required by the HHS Mandate) in any form because they interfere with God's sovereign will regarding whether and when human beings should be born. They therefore believe that the use of birth control and the purchase of it, directly or indirectly for another, is a sin.

Plaintiffs: American Mfg Company, Rev. Mr. (Deacon) Gregory E. Hall
Location: St. Joseph, Minn.
Industry: Mud pumps and parts
Excerpt from the complaint: Deacon Hall is a Roman Catholic Deacon of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston [Texas] assigned to Christ Redeemer Catholic Church where he conducts religious services and preaches...Deacon Hall is required as a Deacon to teach that contraception and abortion are sinful and morally unacceptable under Catholic religious law...Deacon Hall is also required to practice in his life, even in his business, what he preaches as a minister.

Plaintiffs: Doboszenski & Sons, Inc. and Douglas Doboszenski
Location: Loretto
Industry: Construction
Excerpt from the complaint: Doboszenski owns 70% of the shares of the Company. Doboszenski is Roman Catholic. Doboszenski holds sincere religious beliefs based on the Roman Catholic Catechism which states "abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a 'criminal' practice" and which states "direct sterilization" and "contraception" are morally unacceptable. The Catechism also instructs that a person who deviates from its teachings is involved in a "public scandal." As Catholic laypersons, Doboszenski must avoid public scandal. The HHS Mandate to Doboszenski is sinful and immoral.

Plaintiffs: Stinson Electric, Inc., Paul Archambault, Patricia Archambault, and Robert Archambault
Location: Minneapolis
Industry: Electrical services
Excerpt from the complaint: The Archambaults are Roman Catholic. They hold sincere religious beliefs based on the Roman Catholic Catechism which states "abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a 'criminal' practice" and which states "direct sterilization" and "contraception" are morally unacceptable. The Catechism also instructs that a person who deviates from its teachings is involved in a "public scandal." As Catholic laypersons, the Archambaults must avoid public scandal. The HHS Mandate to the Archambaults is sinful and immoral.

Plaintiffs: Hastings Automotive, Inc., Hastings Chrysler Center, Inc., and Douglas W. Erickson
Location: Hastings
Industry: Retail Auto Sales
Excerpt from the complaint: As part of their Christian faith, Plaintiffs believe that life begins at conception, and it is therefore a grave moral wrong to destroy a human embryo. Consequently, Plaintiffs believe that the use of what are labeled contraceptive, but have an abortifacient effect, is immoral and sinful because they destroy a human life by chemically inducing an abortion.