In a blow to religious freedom, the lawsuit brought by Liberty University concerning controversial parts of the Obamacare law has been dismissed after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
The filing by Liberty covered a variety of objections to the law including the individual mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance.
The dismissal comes as the court agreed to hear two challenges to Obamacare regarding the requirement of Christian business owners to pay for medical procedures that go against God’s word such as abortion. That case will be heard before the end of June.
The court’s refusal of the case also dismissed claims made by two individuals against Obamacare.
The U.S. Supreme Court said they will hear arguments for cases involving the Obamacare requirement for health plans to cover birth control as it relates to for-profit companies.
The two cases will be heard together. The first involves Christian retailer Hobby Lobby and the second a Pennsylvania wood products manufacturer. Both busineses claim the mandate that requires them to provide “morning after pills” in employee health care plans violates their Christian beliefs because the drugs essentially produce abortions.
The Court must decide whether a company can have First Amendment religious freedom protections. The Supreme Court likely took the case because lower courts have split on the issue with Hobby Lobby winning their case and Conestoga Wood Specialties losing in lower federal courts.
“My family and I are encouraged that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide our case,” Steve Green, Hobby Lobby’s founder and CEO, told the Christian Post. “This legal challenge has always remained about one thing and one thing only: the right of our family businesses to live out our sincere and deeply held religious convictions as guaranteed by the law and the Constitution. Business owners should not have to choose between violating their faith and violating the law.”
The Office of Personnel Management told government employees Monday that members of Congress and their staffs can buy health care plans that pay for abortions even though the premiums are paid largely by taxpayer money.
The action appears to violate federal law prohibiting taxpayer funded abortion. Continue reading →
