Massive Religious Lawsuit Eclipsed on CNN by 'Stroller Brigade' Protest of About 100

CNN devoted over twice the air-time to a "stroller moms" protest against toxic chemicals than it did to the biggest religious lawsuit in U.S. history filed Monday.

A dozen lawsuits filed by 43 Catholic institutions against the Obama administration merited only news briefs on Monday with one full segment on Tuesday morning. The coverage totaled under seven minutes. In contrast, CNN gave almost 18 minutes to a march of about 100 people pushing for a Democratic-sponsored bill.

CNN's double-standard echoes the failure of the major networks to give the story its due coverage. ABC skipped covering the lawsuit entirely on Monday and Tuesday, while NBC gave it a scant 20-second glance on Tuesday morning. CBS did issue a full report on the lawsuits Tuesday morning, as well as a news brief on Monday evening.

The lawsuits were filed Monday by parties including the Archdioceses of New York and Washington, the University of Notre Dame, and the Catholic University of America. The groups sued the administration for its birth control mandate, that would not exclude Catholic institutions from having to fund practices violating Church teaching in their employee health insurance plans.

Meanwhile, the "stroller brigade" march in Washington, D.C. pushed for greater oversight of toxic chemicals in household products and called for the passage of the Democrat-sponsored "Safe Chemicals Act." CNN included soundbites of Democratic senators and protesters in its coverage.