Comment: The Obama administration claims that the mandate to buy health insurance—especially contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization–allows for future changes that will accommodate objections from religious institutions. A federal judge says that’s not good enough.
“In what a pro-life legal group describes as a “landmark ruling against the HHS Mandate,” a federal judge late yesterday ruled against the Obama administration’s assertion that the government’s supposed “safe harbor” was inadequate [sic] to protect religious organizations from suffering imminent harm.”
“The U.S. District Court ruling allows the Archdiocese of New York to proceed with its lawsuit against the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate.”
“[The judge said] ”the First Amendment does not require citizens to accept assurances from the government that, if the government later determines it has made a misstep, it will take ameliorative action… [T]he Bill of Rights itself, and the First Amendment in particular, reflect a degree of skepticism towards government self-restraint and self-correction.””
“There are now 40 separate lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate, which is a regulation under the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare)…”
Court Rules Obama HHS Mandate Doesn’t Protect Religious Liberty
by Steven Ertel
12/6/12 5:01 PM