Little pills could cause big problems for some Catholic employers in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Attorney General Peggy Lautenschlager issued a formal opinion stating employers who offer prescription drug benefits must include coverage of contraceptives.

Lautenschlager wrote contraception coverage is mandatory "even when applied to an employer affiliated with a church whose tenets prohibit the use of contraceptives."

"Denying prescription drug coverage for contraceptives constitutes sex discrimination" because of the consequences associated with unintended pregnancies that affect only women, Lautenschlager said. She added contraceptives are necessary for reasons other than to prevent pregnancy, including treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions.

Marquette already provides prescription drug coverage for contraceptives except for the so-called morning-after pill, according to Ben Tracy, director of university communication.

Lautenschlager's opinion does not include the morning-after pill, according to Deirdre Morgan, director of communications and public policy for the attorney general. Morgan said whether or not employers offer coverage for the morning-after pill could "be determined by insurance companies later."

Marquette has reviewed Lautenschalger's opinion, Tracy said, and does not plan to make any changes to its prescription drug coverage plan.

Anti-abortion groups such as Pro-Life Wisconsin, which believes contraceptives are a form of abortion, are concerned about the implications of Lautenschlager's opinion.

"When employers provide birth control coverage…they are providing abortion coverage, pure and simple," said Peggy Hamill, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin.

Pro-Life Wisconsin has issued its own opinion piece expressing its hope that Wisconsin courts will reject Lautenschlager's opinion. Such rejection "would certainly be in the best interest of the conscience, economy and health of our great state," the opinion states.

Many Wisconsin employers already offer coverage for prescription contraceptives.

Hamill said she is worried that employers who already provide contraception coverage "are helping those who want to force all employers to do it."

Although Marquette is a Catholic institution, Tracy said 50 percent of its employees are not Catholic and therefore not tied to traditional Catholic beliefs about birth control. He said Catholic employees can use their conscience and beliefs in regards to contraception.

"The fact that the benefit is there does not mean they have to use it," Tracy said.

Student Health Services, whose mission statement promises "excellence, service and leadership" in health care while still "within the context of a Catholic, Jesuit institution," does not supply contraceptives but does provide screening for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV testing.

Recent studies show feelings on contraception are mixed within the Catholic Church.

Pope Paul VI issued the Humane Vitae in 1968, which declared modern contraceptives "absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children."

Catholics for Contraception has conducted research about Catholic views on birth control. According to its Web site, the 1998 National Survey of Insurance Coverage of Contraceptives found 74 percent of Catholics support federal regulations such as Lautenschlager's requiring prescription drug coverage to include contraceptives.